Acorns
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Acorns
Acorns The White Oak Acorn (Quercus sp.)
The slow-growing white oak tree has provided
countless pieces of fine furniture as well as fuel
for warming hearths for many years. But modern society has
completely forgotten the fruits of these often more
than 200-year-old trees. The acorn, the fruit of
the white oak tree, was a staple of the American Indian
for centuries. Prepared properly, it provided breads,
nutmeats, and even a tasty desert!
There are two types of acorn-producing
oak trees - the red oak and the white oak. Both are
edible, but the white oak is so far superior that once you’ve
tasted it, you probably won’t want the red oak
again. The white oak acorn has thick scales on the
crown, a smooth shell and white meat. Red oak acorns have
a yellow meat and a downy lining.
Additionally, the White Oak tree
bears leaves with rounded or no lobes, usually between
5 and 9 in number. All acorns contain tannin - a substance
once used to tan hides. You must leach this prior
to eating. One of the reasons for the white oak’s
popularity is that it contains far less tannin than the
red oak. Leaching the white oak takes about an hour,
the red oak may require all day.
To leach the acorn, first remove
the meat from the shell. You may boil the acorn for 10
to 15 minutes to soften the shell, if needed. Cut the cap
off, and slice the acorn in half. Remove the meat.
Indians would place the meats into a wicker basket and let
it soak in a running stream for a day or two. With modern
bacteria occupying most of America’s waterways,
this can no longer be considered safe. Euell Gibbons described
the following method: Put many holes in a coffee can. Fill
the can with nut meat and place it under the tap in
your sink. Allow the water to run just fast enough to keep
the nutmeats covered. Allow this to run overnight.
Another method comes is to put the
white oak meats into a pot with enough water to cover.
Bring the water to a boil, then drain. Repeat 3 times or
till the bitterness is gone (the water should be clear).
Once you have leached the nuts, dry them on a cookie
sheet in a low oven (about 200°F) for 2 or 3 hours -
till the nuts become brittle. Remove from the oven
and cool. You can now grind the meats into a protein and
fat rich flour, eat them as a tasty nut (salt as desired),
or make a tasty acorn dessert.
Used with permission of Mark A.
Harris.
How to Use Acorns for Bread and Food
There are many species of oak trees. Oak
trees are found throughout. They prefer open woods and bottom
land. Normally, they are divided into two major groups:
Red
Oak - The red oaks have deeply scalloped leaves with
very pointed tips. The acorns from the red oak are
very bitter. The acorns require two growing seasons to mature,
have a hairy lining on the inside of the shell, and
the nutmeats are yellow in color. Red oaks are also members
of the black oak family.
(Photo: Oak Trees - Quercus spp.
Provide Acorns Rich in Protein and Oils)
White
Oak - The white oak also has leaves with deep scallops,
but the tips are rounded. The acorns of the white
oak are less bitter than those of the red oak, and they
require only one growing season. The inner portion of the
white oak acorn shell is smooth, and the nutmeat is white
in color. The chestnut oak is considered part of the white
oak classification.
NUTS:
The nuts are gathered during the fall
from September to October. When processed properly,
acorns have a pleasant nutty flavor. Acorns are an excellent
source of energy, protein, carbohydrate, and calcium.
When collecting acorns, one should not be surprised that
many of them must be discarded due to insects or mold,
so more should be collected than are needed. If you
spread a sheet of plastic under the tree and use only those
acorns that fall within a one-day period, this seems
to reduce bug infestation, an especially important problem
for acorns that are to be stored in their shell. The
ripe tan-to-brown acorns, rather than the unripe green ones,
should be gathered.
The bitterness in acorns is caused by
tannic acid which is water soluble. To remove this unpleasant
taste, shell the brown, ripe acorns and remove any corky
skin layers, dice the meat; and boil the chunks in
water from 15 to 30 minutes until the water turns brown.
Then pour off the water and repeat the process until
the water clears, indicating that the tannic acid has been
removed. Periodically taste a bit of the acorns until you
no longer detect any bitterness. (Native Americans
would let the crushed acorn meat soak in a fast-moving,
clean stream for several weeks to remove the bitterness.)
During the last boiling, salt water can be added; then the
acorns can be deep fried or mixed in a soup. Also, finely
chopped acorn meats can be added to bread and muffins,
or the soft acorn nut can be added as a protein booster
to cooked greens. After the leaching process, acorn
meat can be frozen.
To make flour, the boiled acorn meat can
be split in two and dried by slowly baking in a 200
degree oven with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape.
Or, they can be dried in the sun. They are then crushed
or ground and used as a thickener or as flour. Another method
is to roast the fresh acorns to work well in a grinder
or blender. After grinding, the course flour is
placed into a cloth bag and boiled
to leach out the tannic acid.
Acorn flour can be used alone to
make an acorn bread, but it is not very pleasing to most
tastes. Acorn flour is more palatable when mixed with wheat
flour or corn meal-one part acorn meal mixed with
four parts corn meal for corn bread, or one to four parts
wheat for bread. The acorn meal can also be heated
in water to make a nutritious mush. Or add enough water
to make a thick batter. Add a dash of salt and sweetener
to improve the taste. Allow the batter to stand for an hour
(or until thick) then pat into pancakes and cook or twist
and bake on an open fire.
The leached acorns, after they are
roasted until brittle, can be ground and used as a marginal
coffee substitute.
In their shell, the dried acorns
will store for a time. Some Native Americans stored acorns
for several years in bags buried in boggy areas.
CAUTION: In the identification and
use of wild edibles as a food and herbal healing source,
care and attention to details should be exercised, as some
plants are toxic. Always use several field guides
to insure proper identification. Better yet, you should
be trained by and expert.
Used with permission of Byron Kirkwood,
B & A Products.
The above information was condensed from
the book God's Free Harvest - Successful Harvesting
Nature's Free Foods by Ken Larson.
Rhema Publishing
P.O. Box 789
Suwanee, Georgia 30024
attn: Ken Larson
Acorns
From: Barbara Sykes
SUGARED (HONEYED) ACORNS
Use either sugar or honey for a sweet
acorn treat. Dip the acorn meats (which have been leached
and dried as described above) into boiling syrup or a 2:1
sugar to water solution. Thoroughly dry them on a
greased pan. These will keep pretty well in a tin or glass
jar and make nice holiday
treats or gifts.
ACORN BREAD
This holiday black bread must become
a tradition in any house where it has once been tried! Mix
a cup of the ground acorn meal with 3 teaspoons. of
baking powder, a tsp of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar
or honey, and a cup of white flour. Separately, to a beaten
egg add a cup of milk and 3 tablespoons of oil. Stir
this gently into the dry mix, then pour into a well-greased
pan. Bake your dough at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Top with butter when it comes out of the oven. Serve anytime,
but there exists no flavor quite like hot, homemade
bread!
NOTE: Pour the dough about 2/3 deep
in muffin tins for some tasty muffins. Bake them for 20
minutes and serve them with elderberry or dewberry jelly
(if you still have any!).
PANCAKES!
Mix half a cup of white flour with
a cup of acorn meal, 2½ teaspoons of baking powder,
and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Separately mix a beaten
egg with 1¼ cups of milk and 3 tablespoon of oil.
Pour just enough liquid into the flour mix to make
a good batter. Spoon the batter into a greased frying
pan. Fry till golden, flipping once. Top your pancakes with
your favorite syrup and serve hot!
Enjoy!
The Forager
NOTE: This article originally appeared
in the November Issue of The Forager: The Newsletter of
Edible Wild Plants. If you’d like more info about The
Forager, email your mailing address to
Tim_Sykes@MSN.com.
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