Acorns used for making flour

[Veggie PAK]

Has anyone actually used acorns for making flour or any other edible product? If so, how many times did you boil and change the water to reduce the tannic acid? Have you ever used the brown water it produces for anything useful? It is said to have various useful properties in it.

 

[Wannabefree]

Use white oak acorns. They contain less tannin naturally. Boil and rinse 4-5 times. I haven't used them myself yet, but the water can be used for dye too. I just looked all this up a few years ago because I was going to do it. Another project never started

 

[Neko-chan]

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[Denim Deb]

I seem to recall reading that too.

And, ditto on the white acorns. There are some varieties that you can almost use just as they are.

To tell which acorns are good, and which are full of bugs, put them in water. I don't recall now which is which. I'm thinking the ones w/bugs w/float, and the others will sink, but it could be the other way around.

 

[Wannabefree]

Bad ones float, good ones sink. I dunno about mixing them with wood ash

 

[Emerald]

I think that you keep pouring off water till the bitter is gone and the water is not going dark... we did it in girl scouts when I was younger and they were pretty good.. We added them to venison stew with most of what went in the pot wild foraged.

But just recently I read about a lady who brain tans deer hides use the heavy dark tannin full water for tanning her hides. She ended up soaking it for a few days and then making another batch of acorn tannin water to finish it. the pictures showed a very nice dark brown hide as the tannins browned it up quite a bit.

 

[i_am2bz]

For those of you who watch the Discovery Channel, there was an episode this year on "Man Woman Wild" where they made acorn "pancakes." Ruth gathered a bunch off the ground & ground them against a rock to make a flour. Then to rinse out the tannins, she took off her sock, stuck the flour in it, then soaked the sock in a nearby stream overnight. In the morning she scraped the mush out of her sock sick), formed it into a pancake, & cooked it on a rock next to their fire. She & Myke both raved about the taste...but I suppose when you're lost in the wilderness & hadn't eaten in a couple days, anything would taste good. Still, good info to know.

Oh, one more thing...they didn't complain about any bugs, but ground up bits of rock, which is not great on the teeth.

 

[k15n1]

Bad ones float, good ones sink. I dunno about mixing them with wood ash

Same method is used for sorting other kinds of nuts---black walnuts, at least.

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[Veggie PAK]

For those of you who watch the Discovery Channel, there was an episode this year on "Man Woman Wild" where they made acorn "pancakes." Ruth gathered a bunch off the ground & ground them against a rock to make a flour. Then to rinse out the tannins, she took off her sock, stuck the flour in it, then soaked the sock in a nearby stream overnight. In the morning she scraped the mush out of her sock sick), formed it into a pancake, & cooked it on a rock next to their fire. She & Myke both raved about the taste...but I suppose when you're lost in the wilderness & hadn't eaten in a couple days, anything would taste good. Still, good info to know.

Oh, one more thing...they didn't complain about any bugs, but ground up bits of rock, which is not great on the teeth.

I saw the same one!! That's what inspired me to try the acorn bread with acorns from the tree in my front yard! I will absolutely make it again! I made it and I love it! It has a great nutty flavor. We're taking some to our family Thanksgiving dinner for everyone to try!

Here is the recipe I used:

ACORN BREAD
1 cup acorn flour (I actually chopped mine thoroughly in a Pampered Chef food chopper with the rubbery bottom. It did the job great!)
1 cup whole wheat flour (to help hold it together)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup pure cane sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (as a start. Add more to mix well with a spoon. It should be stiff.)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Bake in pan for 25 minutes or until done at 400 degrees, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack. Use home made jam or fresh butter on warm bread!

(This quote is not my own, but I don't know who it actually belongs to, if anyone

"Using the ingredients given above will produce a sweet, moist, nutty bread. The ingredients can be varied to produce different types of bread or muffins or pancakes, etc. Acorn bread is highly nutritious. It has an energy giving combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. John Muir called dry acorn cakes "the most compact and strength giving food" he had ever used."