Location: Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta
Also known in Indonesia as supa kakabu (Sundanese), jamur empes, and jamur impus.
At the end of May 2022, the portion of rainfall around Special Region of Yogyakarta was starting to decrease during the transition period, with cloudy atmosphere still presented. This kind of weather gives signal of the last ideal days to study varieties of mushroom in this area before the dry season takes over.
I explored an area of land owned by my office’s neighbour, that was used for cultivation of banana, papaya, and cassava. This land, rarely visited by its owner, offered various popular local edible mushrooms as I had observed, therefore mushrooms and plants considered as weeds were not noticed or utilized. That was a green light for me!
In this kampung, owners of undeveloped land or cultivated land are quite tolerant for foragers, as long as they follow the unwritten village norms to not entering fenced land without permission, picking fruits or tubers planted on purpose, and damaging the landscape. Some old local residents often collect fallen melinjo nuts (Gnetum gnemon), tamarind pods, and dry branches for firewood in this area.
Calvatia sp. or the puffballs (its non scientific term) grew in several spots of this area. In Indonesia most people call it as jamur roti or literally translated to English as bread mushroom. Unfortunately I could not determine its specific species/identification as it can only be done under the microscope and mycology study is still developing in this country.
Relying on the guidance of mycology experts in the Indonesian Mushroom Hunter Community, and the physical characteristics in the identification thread posted by members, I concluded that the Calvatia found was an edible kind.
This mushroom is pseudo-stemmed, with fruit that is spongy and soft like real bread, and varies in size. When it is old and under pressure from its surrounding, the skin will break and spread its spores.
Benefits
In Banyumas, local people use this mushroom as traditional medicine for swollen feet, by mixing it with sambetan (spice blend) that is applied topically to the affected area. This information was passed down from generation to generation by local residents, but has not yet been supported by local academic studies.
As for consumption, many people use it as raw material for fried foods.
Habitat
In Indonesia, this species is mostly found in the lowlands. Based on the reports of its findings in local mushroom hunter community Facebook group, its distribution includes the area of Bantul, Surabaya, Serang (Banten), Tangerang Regency, West Bandung, Purbalingga, Bekasi, Jember, Sambi (Boyolali), Malang, Sumba (East Nusa Tenggara), and Central Borneo.
My Personal Experiment in Consuming Calvatia sp.
According to people who have consumed this mushroom, it is only safe and edible when young and white colored on the inside. If you find that the inside is yellow to black, and smells of pharmaceutical drugs, you should leave it.
Before processing it, the outer skin of Calvatia needs to be peeled off. The process should be very easy as the skin is like a thin egg shell and the flesh is soft like a sponge. I cut the spongy flesh into thin slices and cooked them without oil and seasoning until the color turned yellowish and crispy brown on the surface. The texture after being cooked was still very soft, it didn’t have any flavor, and there was a subtle aroma like vanilla that reminded me of real bread.
I also pan fried some of the slices of Calvatia after soaking them in fried tempeh seasoning (consisted of water, crushed coriander, garlic, and salt), which happened to be my supper menu at the time, and the flavor of the seasoning was absorbed very well in the mushroom.
DISCLAIMER:
Foraging wild mushroom is an enjoying and rewarding experience with dangerous risks involved. The risks come from but are not limited to possibility of misidentifying, allergic or toxic reaction to edible wild mushroom (as each individual has different wild mushroom tolerance), toxic combo when consuming certain wild mushroom (such as with alcohol, coconut, or soda), the processing method, and doing the outdoor activity. It is highly recommended to get help from experienced foragers and understand the principle of foraging safety, for beginners. Golden rules of foragers:
Don’t harvest or consume wild mushrooms/plants you do not know. Each individual is responsible for every possible risk from your own result of consuming wild mushrooms/plants.
Reference:
Putra, Ivan, and Khalid Hafazallah, eds. Catatan Komunitas Pemburu Jamur Indonesia: Kolaborasi Lintas Profesi dan Generasi Mengenai Etnomikologi Jamur-jamur Indonesia. Sukabumi: Haura Publishing, 2020. Print.
About Post Author
