Funghi
Puffball
Puffball (Lycoperdon, Calvatia, and related genera) is an edible fungus when young and pure white inside, with mild flavour and tofu-like or marshmallow-firm texture depending on species. Giant puffballs can be sliced into steaks; smaller gem-studded puffballs are cooked whole or halved. Only solid white interiors are culinary—once spore mass yellows or purples, discard. Not related to toxic lookalikes with hidden gill structures; careful identification is essential for wild harvest.
Also known as: Puffball, Giant Puffball, Vesse-de-loup, Bovist
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History
Temperate foragers ate young puffballs as soft, mild wild fungi across Europe and the Americas.
English naturalists and cooks recorded giant puffball steaks as rural fare.
Field guides standardised the white-interior rule for safe puffball eating.
Foraging revivals returned giant puffball to seasonal restaurant menus.