Giant puff ball

ticobay831

ticobay831

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 July 2005
Messages
1,768
Location
warwickshire
Visit site
sorry i know its not horse related, but i did see them whilst out riding, so is kinda :-)
has anyone tried them??
I did years ago and it was lovely, was out hacking last sunday and found 3 around the base of a tree, so nipped back today and picked one, its huge, no one else will eat it :-/
 
There was a recipe the other day on a very old episode from the guy who does River Cottage, if I find one I will try it, it looked delicious, just hollow it out, fill with cubes of meat and veg, put a bung in and cook for a couple of hours
 
:-( maybe not just cut mine open and its got a very slight yellowy tinge to it and apparantly you are not supposed to eat them if theyre not pure white.. will have to be earler next year
 
When we bought our farm in 1994, we had no livestock, but there were sheep in surrounding fields. The following late summer/autumn, I looked down the field and thought I saw a single ewe in the long grass. As I walked down toward it, I was surprised it didn't run away. Then, I realised it was a giant puffball. It was so ginormous I had to go and fetch a wheelbarrow to carry it back to the house. It was actually two puffballs attached together which looked, for all the world, like a massive bum. It was too large to fit into our huge Belfast sink. I cut into it and it was pure white all the way through. I made puffball "steaks" by slicing 1" thick pieces and sauteing them in butter and bacon. As large as the slices were, they cooked down to quite a small volume. But, oh was it delicious! It turned out, that puffball, and several dozen later that year, grew on what was the old muck heap. The following year, we harvested over a hundred puffballs! I was giving them away left and right.

When we acquired the horses, donkeys and pet sheep, we attempted to protect the site from the animals' feet by putting hurdles around the area. That didn't last for any length of time. Ultimately, we had to seriously fence the fields and when we did, that particular site was the horses' favourite place to stand and snooze. As a result, we rarely ever see any puffballs anymore.
 
ticobay,

Yeah it sounds like yours is past it.

If they are at the stage where they are "puffing" they are well past eating. Although they are great fun to play with and gross out my friends who have never heard of them!
 
I found half a dozen chanterelles yesterday.. do you think I can remember where? Damnit!

Makes me laugh when people turn their noses up and refuse to try them, so many seem to imagine they are slimy. I love foraging. Couple of years ago the horses paddock was thick with the best mushrooms I have seen in years, sadly last summer was too dry although we have had a few this year. My daughters fields have had a lot but one of her horses delights in stomping on them, he never eats them, just stomps.
 
Have puffballs growing on the edge of my horse's field and yes they are delicious to eat.
Good luck with finding one in peak condition
 
yes it is now in the bin :-( but there are 2 more in the spot where i got it so im going back later :-), just hope they arent past their best either or will just have to wait till next year and remember!!!!! lol
Thanks for the replys im really disapointed now... really want one :'-(
 
OH has taken up mushroom hunting. He takes my horse down to the field for me at the weekend and the gets disappears on the way back. He's even got himself a book on mushrooms! I wouldn't mind but a) I hate mushrooms and b) He's supposed to come back for the shetland!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top