Acorns Wild Edible Food
Important! Do not remove your acorn meats from their shell until you are ready to process or freeze or eat them. You only have a little more than a day to prepare them once they are shelled.
First step in food preparation is to crack the shell of the acorn and remove the meat. Pliers make the job easy.
Next step is to remove the tannin. All acorns contain tannin but as stated the white oaks have less than red oaks. This, in no way means you don't have to remove the tannin in white oaks. Remember they all have tannin just not the same amount.
You can either process the acorn meat whole or break/pound it into tiny pieces first. White oaks are more suitable for whole processing due to less tannin to start with. Whole kernels require longer de-tannin times.
Method 1:To remove the tannin you can either boil for a short while in water or flush with copious amounts of cold water. Too much boiling will result in a loss of flavor and it will convert the nut meat into a pile of goop. Cold water is best but takes longer but has the advantage of producing a better flour that sticks together better. If you are going roast whole for snacking then boiling is fine. If you are going to use the acorn for flour it should be cold processed, or you will have to add a binder.
To boil, place enough water in two separate pots to cover the acorns with water. Adding cold water to the hot acorns locks in their bitterness!!! Add salt to the water if you like, best to do this on the last boiling. It will add to the flavor and increase the shelf life of the food as well. NOTE:white oaks might be able to get by with a single boil.
Bring the first pot of water to a boil. Add the acorn meat to the pot and remove the pot from heat. Now start the second pot of water on fire/stove and bring it to a boil 1/2 an hour after the first pot was removed from heat. Now strain the acorns out of the first pot and place in the second pot all at once.
Once again as soon as you place the acorn meat in the boiling pot of water remove it from any heat source. Repeat the process as many as four times. Taste the acorns after each turn and stop when the acorns lose their bitter taste.
Method 2:The second method to remove the bitter tannin is called cold water flushing is most appropriate for white oak group acorns with little initial bitterness. Put the acorn nutmeats inside a clean pillowcase and submerge in cold running water for about 5 hours. But rinse until they are no longer bitter don't rely on a specific period of time.
Ok now that the tannin has been removed you must dry the acorn meat. If you are making bread you do not need to dry them first. Spread the acorn meats in a thin layer on a baking tray and dry slowly in a warm oven 175F or you can dry them in a sunny spot for a bit longer. If you are going to make acorn flour skip this step and proceed here.
Done! You can now eat the prepared acorns as is or in various recipes such as use in cookies, bread or grits to name only a few.
First step in food preparation is to crack the shell of the acorn and remove the meat. Pliers make the job easy.
Next step is to remove the tannin. All acorns contain tannin but as stated the white oaks have less than red oaks. This, in no way means you don't have to remove the tannin in white oaks. Remember they all have tannin just not the same amount.
You can either process the acorn meat whole or break/pound it into tiny pieces first. White oaks are more suitable for whole processing due to less tannin to start with. Whole kernels require longer de-tannin times.
Method 1:To remove the tannin you can either boil for a short while in water or flush with copious amounts of cold water. Too much boiling will result in a loss of flavor and it will convert the nut meat into a pile of goop. Cold water is best but takes longer but has the advantage of producing a better flour that sticks together better. If you are going roast whole for snacking then boiling is fine. If you are going to use the acorn for flour it should be cold processed, or you will have to add a binder.
To boil, place enough water in two separate pots to cover the acorns with water. Adding cold water to the hot acorns locks in their bitterness!!! Add salt to the water if you like, best to do this on the last boiling. It will add to the flavor and increase the shelf life of the food as well. NOTE:white oaks might be able to get by with a single boil.
Bring the first pot of water to a boil. Add the acorn meat to the pot and remove the pot from heat. Now start the second pot of water on fire/stove and bring it to a boil 1/2 an hour after the first pot was removed from heat. Now strain the acorns out of the first pot and place in the second pot all at once.
Once again as soon as you place the acorn meat in the boiling pot of water remove it from any heat source. Repeat the process as many as four times. Taste the acorns after each turn and stop when the acorns lose their bitter taste.
Method 2:The second method to remove the bitter tannin is called cold water flushing is most appropriate for white oak group acorns with little initial bitterness. Put the acorn nutmeats inside a clean pillowcase and submerge in cold running water for about 5 hours. But rinse until they are no longer bitter don't rely on a specific period of time.
Ok now that the tannin has been removed you must dry the acorn meat. If you are making bread you do not need to dry them first. Spread the acorn meats in a thin layer on a baking tray and dry slowly in a warm oven 175F or you can dry them in a sunny spot for a bit longer. If you are going to make acorn flour skip this step and proceed here.
Done! You can now eat the prepared acorns as is or in various recipes such as use in cookies, bread or grits to name only a few.
