A 27-year-old UK woman turned an unexpected find into a week of inventive meals after finding a 5kg mushroom in a field in Buckinghamshire. Alissimon Minuit, an experienced forager, was walking with her father when she noticed the giant puffball mushroom, which she described as “about twice the size of my head”.
The family spent the next week experimenting with mushrooms, preparing various dishes. Minette’s first creation was spicy fried mushrooms, which earned a 10/10 rating. He then prepared a mushroom pizza using mushrooms as the crust, which received an 8/10. Other dishes included mushroom pasta and “meat” balls, both of which received similar scores. However, the standout dish was a mushroom “roast”, which Minuit dubbed “the perfect vegetarian meatloaf”, earning it an astonishing 10,000/10 rating.
The giant mushrooms fed the family for an entire week, and Minit still has leftovers for later. “I’m a little nervous about it,” he admitted to the BBC, but said it was worth the effort.
For recipe ideas, the family turned to TikTok, where one highlight was a mushroom-based pizza. After using too many mushrooms for food, Minette froze the rest for future use.
While few villagers would risk eating poisonous mushrooms, Minuit’s expertise ensured the safety of the discovery. Puffball mushrooms are easily identified and are considered one of the safe varieties to forage. “It looks like something from another planet,” Minnitt told the BBC.
This discovery is not his first major mushroom discovery; Minuit encountered slightly smaller mushrooms in the same area in 2017. Thanks to his extensive knowledge of foraging, he confidently identified mushrooms without any risk.
For those interested, Minit’s culinary creations offer a new twist on mushroom-based dishes.
