Allegedly Poisonous Soup

[apocalypse_wow]

So I found this mushroom while I was walking near a grassy area downtown. I knew it was a puffball, and was pretty sure it was edible, thanks to 'My Side of the Mountain', so I wrapped it in newspaper and took it home. After looking up 4 different university mycology webpages on them, I was sure I had the right mushroom. Bigger than a fist (in

Comments

[grlathena]

That is probably the most awesome thing I will see all day. Thank you.

[apocalypse_wow]

Still not dead. Yeah!

[wilde_bee]

Puffballs are definitely edible, but only before they form all their spores that make them fun to kick around and burst open to release the spores. Looks like you picked it at the ideal time.

Apparently some people guard the previous location of a puffball (because they are known to appear in the same location again), much like morrel and chanterrel (sp?) hunters.

How did it taste?

[apocalypse_wow]

It was so weird to cut it up and eat it, because there were never any bits that were readily identifiable as "mushroom". When you eat a regular white mushroom, you can see the contours. If you cube a portabella, you can still see the gills. This thing was disturbingly uniform, almost crumbly to the touch, pure white inside, and just looked like a block of styrofoam when I was cutting it up.

When cooking, they soaked up every drop oil I put on them. They took a while to start browning. The situation got weirder when I actually ate a piece - it basically melted in my mouth. Not a texture I normally associate with mushroom. The taste wasn't identifiable. The soup tasted heavily of all the garlic and ginger I had put in. I need to find a better way to shred ginger, so it's not so chunky.

[gardenspirit]

That is awesome. I am amazed and impressed. I like "My Side of the Mountain" good book.