Conkers - Coffee?
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No idea! But watching this post with interest.
OLO
www.onelifeoverland.com
//probably typed on mobile so please excuse typos!
OLO
www.onelifeoverland.com
//probably typed on mobile so please excuse typos!
I've always been told not to eat or imbibe conkers as they are poisonous. Sweet chestnuts yes conkers no.
Acorns can be made into a coffee substitute. They need to have the tannins removed by boiling in several washes of water and roasted then ground.
Will do some research but personally I wouldn't.
Acorns can be made into a coffee substitute. They need to have the tannins removed by boiling in several washes of water and roasted then ground.
Will do some research but personally I wouldn't.
Ok the answer is no.
They contain aescin which can cause paralysis.
Sorry mate. Don't try and eat them.
They contain aescin which can cause paralysis.
Sorry mate. Don't try and eat them.
aesculus hippocastanum Horse Chestnut, European Horsechestnut, Common Horsechestnut PFAF Plant Database
aesculus hippocastanum is a deciduous Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 15 m (49ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female...
pfaf.org
The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute[2, 7]. Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a gruel[7, 46, 55, 61]. The seed is quite large, about 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. It is usually produced in abundance in Britain. Unfortunately the seed is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. See also the notes above on toxicity.
The seed contains up to 40% water, 8 - 11% protein and 8 - 26% toxic saponins[218]. The following notes apply to A. californica, but are probably also relevant here:- The seed needs to be leached of toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days[213].
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I'm questioning this as I posed a similar question in relationship to Arum Maculatum - which conventional wisdom suggested is poisonous but a few here have tired and used a method to safely process.
Where or what source are you using for your source information Woody?
It's not native, so not on my database 
However, aescin is only toxic in very large quantities. Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) has been used medicinally for a very long time. It is currently prescribed, internally and externally, for varicose veins and other vein related conditions.
It's also been used as an explosive ingredient
Sadly, I have no record of it being consumed - maybe it just doesn't taste very nice!
However, aescin is only toxic in very large quantities. Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) has been used medicinally for a very long time. It is currently prescribed, internally and externally, for varicose veins and other vein related conditions.
It's also been used as an explosive ingredient
Sadly, I have no record of it being consumed - maybe it just doesn't taste very nice!
Fascinating!!! I'm constantly surprised how very varied and wide reaching Plant Lore threads its way through history.
Agreed, and the ingenuity of mankind to find the uses!
Did Conkers Help to Win the First World War? | Historic England
In 1917, hundreds of tons of horse chestnuts and acorns, 'without the green husks' were collected for a vital ingredient to manufacture of cordite.
historicengland.org.uk
They are toxic. It takes an awful lot of care, more than working with arum, to make them truly edible.
The water that you use to soak them is hazardous to watercourses. It used to be used to stun fish. It's also pretty good for washing clothes. If you fancy eating anything that makes the natural version of Persil, and an ointment used to soothe and settle varicose veins that's up to you.
The water that you use to soak them is hazardous to watercourses. It used to be used to stun fish. It's also pretty good for washing clothes. If you fancy eating anything that makes the natural version of Persil, and an ointment used to soothe and settle varicose veins that's up to you.
Indeed - as I've mentioned elsewhere its down to personal accountability of actions.
Thanks for your comments!
I like that you're trying everything that we think of as 'famine food' for edibility, etc., and I freely admit that many of them I'm happy just to add to the seasonal foraging, but conkers...those I use for washing hand made, embroidered, hand made lace, linens. I've never made the varicose vein treatment, thankfully not in need, but I watch James Wong's programme with interest. Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany are of great interest
M
I like that you're trying everything that we think of as 'famine food' for edibility, etc., and I freely admit that many of them I'm happy just to add to the seasonal foraging, but conkers...those I use for washing hand made, embroidered, hand made lace, linens. I've never made the varicose vein treatment, thankfully not in need, but I watch James Wong's programme with interest. Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany are of great interest
M
No I do understand that.
But that's quite a subjective point of view isn't it? One mans meat etc.
Some may think its strange to experiment with Acorns for Flour - Other may not.
Most of the wild food forums & fb pages I've seen all state openly that Arum Maculatum is just a black & white closed book example of a Toxic plant - yet there is a way to process it.
I'm not looking to poison myself , I'd rather do adequate research and listen to the other perspective of others to see if there is more information below the surface of what is commonly believed.
I posted the original question as I'm sure I have seen a post somewhere ( must be elsewhere ) of someone turning Conkers into Coffee.
And since posting I found this article in PFAF which I should have checked first.
" The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute[2, 7]. Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a gruel[7, 46, 55, 61]. The seed is quite large, about 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. It is usually produced in abundance in Britain. Unfortunately the seed is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. See also the notes above on toxicity. The seed contains up to 40% water, 8 - 11% protein and 8 - 26% toxic saponins[218]. The following notes apply to A. californica, but are probably also relevant here:- The seed needs to be leached of toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days[213]. "
So whilst i can accept it raises eyebrows and concern there would seem to be adequate grounds for me to explore the possibility where others have clearly gone already.
The bit you quote, about 8 to 26% toxic saponins doesn't inspire me to think that they'll taste good though.
Got to be worth a shot especially if someone else is up for it
M
Got to be worth a shot
especially if someone else is up for it M
Acorn flours are not experiments. Acorns were harvested and prepared by paleo peoples in eastern North America.
You will find a detailed description, pages 260-264, in Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger.
The subject is not mentioned in my Sioux cook book, not in Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden
nor in Native Harvests by E.B. Kavasch.
You will find a detailed description, pages 260-264, in Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger.
The subject is not mentioned in my Sioux cook book, not in Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden
nor in Native Harvests by E.B. Kavasch.
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