Giant puffballs!

[Stuart]

I have been watching a quiet, rarley visited area near me where puffballs grow in profusion every year waiting for them to appear, however for the last couple of weeks due to being very busy I have not had the time to go and check up on them...... untill yesterday.

where lo and behold over a hundred had appeared! unfortunately I had missed most of them and they had almost all gone or were starting to go to spore

I did however find three large ones that were still good to eat, which is more than enough. I dropped one in at my parents house, and took the other two home.





fried up with some salt, pepper, and a little chicken stock they were absolutely delicious and extremely filling!

[bloodline]

Nice one Stuart they grow near me but in a well walked bit of spare ground freqented by many so if you dont see em first they are picked or worst kicked around by kids . The chicken stock for flavour sounds like a great idea as they seem to take on flavours well. Soon as im mobile again Im gonna get out foraging.

[Ed]

Oh no!!!! who let stuart into the kitchen!!!

Good find there..... some one already got to them down here ..... looks like I'll have to find another patch for next year.


Ed

[Moonraker]

Nice find Stuart. They are an under appreciated fungi yet one of the easiest to identify Good recipe tip too.

For those that may not know it, here is a link for the fungi here 'Giant Puffball (Langermannia gigantea)

Don't despair if you missed them right now as they can appear anytime now and into the autumn.

Some nice info from Roger Phillips, Mushrooms:

The word 'puff-ball' is a corruption of Puck or Poukball, anciently called Puck-fish. The Irish name is Pooks-foot from the Saxon, `Pulker-fish', a toadstool. The American Indians used various species of puff-balls, eaten in their early stages of growth, either raw, boiled or roasted. The Zunis dried them for winter use, while the Iroquois fried them and added them to soups. The Omaha Indians cut the giant puff-ball into chunks and fried it like meat. When picked for consumption the flesh should still be pure white. As they age, the flesh turns yellowish. A good, young specimen can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

I found a great way to eat them is fried in bread crumbs and here is a recipe again from the same source:

Crunchy Puff-ball

Make fresh breadcrumbs and toast them under the grill. Make a batter by whipping the egg lightly with a little water, then gradually mix in the flour. Flavour with pepper and salt and leave for 20 minutes for the flour to swell. Clean the puff-ball (it is usually unnecessary to peel it), then cut into slices about ½cm (¼ in) thick. Dip first in the batter and then in the breadcrumbs and fry in the fat created by frying the bacon, until they are a lovely, golden brown. Serve with bacon, for breakfast.

Young puff-ball
6 slices bacon
1 egg
50 g (2 oz) flour
Fresh breadcrumbs, toasted
Salt and pepper

Serves Four

Do make sure you only use the young and firm specimens for eating to fully appreciate them. They are somewhat like Tofu in texture so would suit veggie recipes using that perhaps.

They apparently have antiseptic properties and can be used for field dressings but I don't have any info to hand.

I wonder whether dried ones could be a source of tinder? Never tried that.

[spamel]

Wait until they release the spores, you then puff the spores onto the wound which stops the bleeding.

[Ed]

Ummmm Crunchy Puffball.... I like the sound of that.


Ed

[Stuart]

Alas the Giant puff balls are now gone till next year

but 100 meters away from where I found them a crop of shaggy inkcaps has sprung up

Torin and me collecting some for dinner
(torin is supposed to be supplying the rabbit, but was preoccupided with pulling the mushrooms apart!)

[spamel]

Wow, tell us more about your magnificent (the feathery one) bird! That's absolutely beautiful.

Do you need a licence to keep birds of prey?

[tomtom]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...light=Falconry

and heres a little detail about the topic with a few useful links:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...light=Falconry

[stoddy]

Stuart

Is Torin a Harris Hawk?

he's beautiful

[Neil1]

Stu , they look more like shaggy ink caps, still good to eat but don't have alchohol in your system.
Neil

[Stuart]

Stu , they look more like shaggy ink caps, still good to eat but don't have alchohol in your system.
Neil

Ah well spotted Neil, I meant Shaggy inkcaps, Thats what happens if you post in a rush I suppose.

I think and I may be wrong here so correct me if I am, that the problems with alcohol are restricted to the common ink caps (Coprinus atramentarius) and are not found in the shaggy ink cap (coprinus comatus)

I dont drink so its never been a problem for me

(I have edited the original post so as not to be confusing)

shaggy parasols are of course completly different and look more like this:
(note these are normal parasols not shaggy parasols, I dont have any pictures of shaggy parasols)





the small mushrooms in the bag are fairy ring Champignons (Marasmius oreades)

[jdlenton]

Thanks Stuart and Neil I've learnt sometihing new today already

From Wikipedia
The genus Coprinus (commonly known as Ink caps) is a group of basidiomycete fungi, having the principal characteristic that the gills deliquesce (turn to ink) at maturity. The spore colour varies from blackish brown to black.

There are many species of Coprinus, but the only good edible one is C. comatus (the Shaggy Ink Cap) which must be eaten very young. C. atramentarius (the Common Ink Cap) and C. micaceus (the Glistening Ink Cap) may possibly also be eaten but provoke cardiovascular problems if alcohol is drunk with them or even if it is consumed up to several days later.

had a look round and if this is a correct quote it should clear things up even further

James

[Stuart]

Stuart

Is Torin a Harris Hawk?

he's beautiful

Torin is a 18 month old Male Harris Hawk, we go out for a least 2 - 3hrs a day everday so most of my bushcrafting is done with him.

he often supplies rabbit for dinner too.

there are pictures of him in the gallery

[Neil1]

Well you learn something new every day!
I thought it was all ink caps, thanks for that.
Strangely last week I found some parasol mushrooms growing under some conifers, never known this before, I thought I had got it wrong but I had been collecting some in a pasture a couple of miles away, so I had them there to compare and they were definately the same!
Neil

[Stuart]

hmm I have never seen parasols any where but open grassy ground, mainly on the grassed areas of the dunes at myther mawr.

were they parasols or shaggy parasols?

[Neil1]

Shaggy Parasols, I have only ever found them on old pasture (usually if the ground has been disturbed in some way), but they were definatley the same.
Neil

[Tantalus]

Extract from

Collins

Mushrooms of Great Britain and Europe
Shaggy Parasol
Macrolepiota rhacodes

............

Habitat: Conifers, especially spruce....

A good edible species but beware of var. bohemica.........(which) appears to be more or less indigestible, especially when gathered in very disturbed sites.

please be careful

Tant

[Biddlesby]

About Champignons - I heard they can be easily confused with a poisonous species. What is that species and how do you tell the difference?

[Spacemonkey]

That's a gorgeous hawk you have there! Excuse my ignorance, but how do they rate on the intelligence/loyalty scale, compared to say, dogs? Do they exhibit personalities like most domestic 'pets'?

[Tantalus]

About Champignons - I heard they can be easily confused with a poisonous species. What is that species and how do you tell the difference?

Isnt there a thread on hawks somewhere?

Do not eat any "champignons" that stain immediately yellow when cut, or any that smell of phenol / carbolic soap (remember that stuff?)

If in doubt , check with someone who knows their stuff, preferably in person rather than on the web.

Tant

[den]

A field where i collect my parasol mushrooms every year has shaggy parasols growing at one edge of the field next to the wood and parasols growing in the middle.

Den

[Stuart]

That's a gorgeous hawk you have there! Excuse my ignorance, but how do they rate on the intelligence/loyalty scale, compared to say, dogs? Do they exhibit personalities like most domestic 'pets'?

this is not as easy a question as it may first appear, firstly Harris hawks are unique in that they are the only species of raptor which hunts in packs, so their loyalty to their handler is vastly greater than that of most raptors.

I would say that Torin's Loyalty is somwhere between a cat and a dog, he displays very similar behaviours to a dog such as flying ahead then every few minutes then coming back to check on you and brushing past you to let you know he's there.

but he will only actually come and sit on the glove if he thinks there is a possiblity of food or if he is tired and wants a lift

if I am out with my wife and we take separate routes torin will fly back and forth between us checking on us both, I would say its quite impossible to lose him.

I dont use any jesses (leather straps), hood or transmitters on torin, he has a bell which helps me find him in long grass when he has a rabbit. But other than that there is nothing to stop him flying off whenever he wants

he also likes to show you what he has found and get you to follow him to it, which often includes foxes and grass snakes

he defiantly exhibits personality, torin seems to decide whether he likes people on a person by person basis, but if you are blonde or bald your are off to a bad start. if he doesn’t like you he will keep his distance and watch you.

he is amazingly inquisitive and likes to explore everything

Intelligence is a hard one too, Harris hawks are believed to be the most intelligent of the raptors but there intelligence is hard to compare to other animals.

Torin has worked out how to untie the knot which keeps him on the perch whilst I sort out the gear, but on the other hand he doesn’t seem to realise that when he is tied on to something he cant fly away????? (though saying that dogs often seem oblivious to the fact that pulling on the lead till they choke doesnt get them anywhere either)

he can make very intelligent decisions about what he can see, but he doesn’t seem to be able to make deductions independent of what he sees, for example if he catches a rabbit and I want to take it off him without him getting upset I cover it with a cloth and even though he is standing on it he seem to forget its there??

however if he can see something he will stop at nothing working out how to get at it.

bear in mind though that this all takes a huge amount of training, more time has been invested in Torin that an other animal I have ever trained

[Spacemonkey]

Sounds like the training has paid off! He does you proud.

[JoshG]

That's an absolutely magnificent bird, Stuart. For me, I think having the loyalty of such a creature would be well worth all the training and such.

[Stuart]

it really has been a great year for mushrooms!

just the other side of the vally form where I found the shaggy ink caps and giant puffballs I have now found horse mushrooms!



stuffed with honey roast ham chestnut mushrooms and covered in melted buffalo Mozzarella and emmental cheese mmmmmmm



I was going to take a picture of it cooked, but I ate it instead

[Tantalus]

I was going to take a picture of it cooked, but I ate it instead

lol nice find too mate

try stuffing them with garlic and pate and baking them when they are that size

though ham and cheese sounds tempting too

Tant