Appreciation: Cyclist finds elusive giant puffball near Haines, Alaska

Cyclist finds elusive giant puffball near Haines, Alaska​

 

Wow! I've never tasted any : they are very common around (not the giant species), but when there were other species, I just didn't care. These are not among the popular ones in traditional French "cuisine". They would just amuse my kids when they were young.

Now, if I can find some, I'll be happy discover their taste...

In French, they're called "Vesses de loup" :
"Le nom du genre a été construit, en étymologie inverse, sur le terme vesse-de-loup en accolant les racines grecques λύκος (loup), et πέρδομαι (péter)."
NB:
λύκος (loup) : wolf
πέρδομαι (péter) : to fart (excuse my French, huh huh..)

 

I've found that puffballs generally are pretty tasteless and have soft flesh; so, I don't eat them when other mushrooms are available. That's probably why the cyclist found that preparing them as jerky was the best option. I haven't tried them, but the mushroom jerky recipes that I looked up online would seem quite appropriate for puffballs.

 

One recipe for puffball jerky: Puffball Mushroom Jerky - FORAGER | CHEF.