Acorns
- Thread starter Biddlesby
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Hi Biddlesby,
I made acorn flour last year after reading quite a few how to articles and methods... basically you either soak the nuts for a long time or boil several times or as I did a combo of both - the principle is to leech out the bitter tannins. In practice, this version came about because I was too busy to process the acorns for a few weeks after collecting them.... So:
gather acorns, avoiding any with holes
slit the skins with a kitchen knife,
boil for 20 minutes in plenty of water, drain, cool then peel the skins and put the nuts in a pan of fresh water. Boil again for 20 minutes drain and repeat with fresh water. At this point I got bored/ busy with other things so I put the nuts in a bucket of fresh water and left them. I changed the water every couple of days and this went on for nearly 3 weeks by which time I had more time to finish processing. I gave them another boiling and tasted to check for bitterness. ( by this time the nuts were beginning to break up into a bit of a sludge at the bottom of the pan )
Then I drained them keeping the sludge and put the whole lot into a blender to make a coarse gloop. Finally I spread it out on trays and dried it in a cool oven for around half an hour. Acorn flour keeps well, tho has no gluten so if you are following a recipe which uses ordinary flour it's best to only substitute up to 50 % acorn flour. Flavour: earthy and quite strong; I made a batch of cookies with hazelnuts and raisins and 50% acorn flour which was well recieved by my wild food guinea pigs!
I made acorn flour last year after reading quite a few how to articles and methods... basically you either soak the nuts for a long time or boil several times or as I did a combo of both - the principle is to leech out the bitter tannins. In practice, this version came about because I was too busy to process the acorns for a few weeks after collecting them.... So:
gather acorns, avoiding any with holes
slit the skins with a kitchen knife,
boil for 20 minutes in plenty of water, drain, cool then peel the skins and put the nuts in a pan of fresh water. Boil again for 20 minutes drain and repeat with fresh water. At this point I got bored/ busy with other things so I put the nuts in a bucket of fresh water and left them. I changed the water every couple of days and this went on for nearly 3 weeks by which time I had more time to finish processing. I gave them another boiling and tasted to check for bitterness. ( by this time the nuts were beginning to break up into a bit of a sludge at the bottom of the pan )
Then I drained them keeping the sludge and put the whole lot into a blender to make a coarse gloop. Finally I spread it out on trays and dried it in a cool oven for around half an hour. Acorn flour keeps well, tho has no gluten so if you are following a recipe which uses ordinary flour it's best to only substitute up to 50 % acorn flour. Flavour: earthy and quite strong; I made a batch of cookies with hazelnuts and raisins and 50% acorn flour which was well recieved by my wild food guinea pigs!
Here's a recipe that you may like, from the book edible and medicinal plants by steve brill & Evelyn dean.
I cook it often, its nice with meat but it is an acquired taste.
This curried acorn recipe also works with other wild and commercial nuts and seeds.
3 cups water
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 to 8 tablespoons curry powder
1 heaping quart of chopped white oak acorns,leached of their tannin by repeated boiling
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt or seasoned salt
Bring 21/2 cups of water to boil. Put 1/2 cup of the water in a blender with garlic , lemon juice,and 1/4 cup of the curry powder. and blend until smooth . add to the boiling water. add the acorns and simmer for minutes . drain put in a baking dish. mix in the rest of the curry powder , the olive oil and salt . Roast at 300F for 45 to 90 minutes or until the acorns are dry and well-roasted but not hard stirring often.
I somtimes add other sauces to it, to give it a bit more flavor.
I also make crackers with acorn flour with 50 nomal flour 50 acorn Because acorn does not soak up water very well. I add a pinch of salt and make it into a dough by adding water and butter. Then roll thinly and cut it into pieces and cook them on a hot plate. They are very nice with cheese on top and keep a long time.
P.s I coarse mince my acorns before I soak them it speeds the tanning release up.
I cook it often, its nice with meat but it is an acquired taste.
This curried acorn recipe also works with other wild and commercial nuts and seeds.
3 cups water
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 to 8 tablespoons curry powder
1 heaping quart of chopped white oak acorns,leached of their tannin by repeated boiling
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt or seasoned salt
Bring 21/2 cups of water to boil. Put 1/2 cup of the water in a blender with garlic , lemon juice,and 1/4 cup of the curry powder. and blend until smooth . add to the boiling water. add the acorns and simmer for minutes . drain put in a baking dish. mix in the rest of the curry powder , the olive oil and salt . Roast at 300F for 45 to 90 minutes or until the acorns are dry and well-roasted but not hard stirring often.
I somtimes add other sauces to it, to give it a bit more flavor.
I also make crackers with acorn flour with 50 nomal flour 50 acorn Because acorn does not soak up water very well. I add a pinch of salt and make it into a dough by adding water and butter. Then roll thinly and cut it into pieces and cook them on a hot plate. They are very nice with cheese on top and keep a long time.
P.s I coarse mince my acorns before I soak them it speeds the tanning release up.
Has anyone tried buying them? Seem to have come across a few references to this and sounds like a good way of storing the autumn glut for use through the year? Food for free suggest burying with some ash/charcoal.
I presume this would need to be fairly deep and in some sort of sack/cloth.
I guess it works for squirrels!
Scoops
I presume this would need to be fairly deep and in some sort of sack/cloth.
I guess it works for squirrels!
Scoops
scoops_uk said:
Burying? .I think if you bury them you get oak trees.
Drying acorn flour in an oven uses a lot of energy for not much result. Not very environmentally friendly!
Best feed acorns to a pig and then eat the pig; tastes much better. 
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