(The following is excerpted from "Nuts, Acorns and Nut Flours in Medieval
Foods"
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/nuts-msg.html)
Okay, here's the deal. I have done reenacting of the CA Indian life arts
for some years. Acorns must be leached of their tannic acids before you can
eat them. Yes, tannic acid is the same stuff you use to tan hides, or as a
dye mordant. Here's how you leach acorns according to the Central CA
Indians:
Shell the acorns, peel them of their inner skin, and grind the clean nuts
into a fine flour (a blender works okay, but leaves some lumps). Make a
mound of sand about 12" high, level off the top, and make a 2" deep level
basin in the middle. Cross section:
/-\_________/-\
/ \
__ / \__
Line the basin with cloth, evenly distribute the acorn flour in the basin,
and pour hot water over the flour until the basin is full. Use a branch or
basket so the water doesn't make a dent in the flour. When the water in the
basin is gone, add more water. You'll be flooding the basin 10 times, and
the water should go from hot to warm to cold by the last rinse. Remove the
flour by patting it and sticking it to your fingers in clumps.
I have recipes for authentic CA Indian acorn foods, including soup (or mush
if you like it thicker) and bread if anyone's interested. I like the
flavor. It reminds me of mild walnuts (and it makes an absolutely WONDERFUL
ice cream!) Hope this helps...! 8-)
N> As to acorns, I have definitely heard of their use in porriges (though
JTN> not bread); I've also heard that they don't taste very good. This JTN>
does not, of course, contradict their use in hardship (indeed, it JTN>
indicates it); but it does suggest that people hungry enough to eat JTN>
acorns are hungry enough to try other unfamiliar grains.
They can be used in bread. They make a good flat bread, much like corn
bread, actually, or can be mixed with finer flours to make yeast-raised
loaves. I've also used acorn flour to make something like a cross between a
cracker and a tortilla chip. Mixed with barley flour, I've made deep-fried
fritters (kinda like hush puppies) of them that are a big hit.
> BTW, do acorns require as much preparation as tapioca to be edible?
JTN> No. My impression is that they need to be ground, then soaked, to JTN>
leech out the problem substance (which I have a feeling might have JTN>
been an excess of tannin, but I certainly wouldn't swear to that).
I would. If you don't soak 'em long enough your flour tastes like *really*
strong tea. You know, when you leave the bag in for a hour without
realizing it and then take a swig? Blech!
> And if acorns tasted as good as tapioca, I'm sure they would still be in
> use for food, despite the special processing needed. (Tapioca, after all,
> is made from manioc root, which is highly toxic.)
JTN> Certainly. My understanding is that they taste pretty vile. Anyone
JTN> on the net ever tried them?
Yes, and prepared properly, they're good. They don't have the *usual*
flavour for bread, but neither does cornbread. Actually, if you've ever
worked with *any* nut flours (particularly pecan), the process (and taste)
bears a great resemblance to the acorn variety. The reason that I mentioned
pecans, is that there is a papery membrane around the acorn that *has* to
be completely gotten rid of, just like pecans, or they taste like
somebody's old shoes, complete with a soapy flavour. If they "taste vile"
this is most likely why!
...and, since *somebody* is going to call me on this, I have made my stuff
from American acorns, starting from picking 'em up and peeling 'em. BTW,
that my bet why they're not more popular. They take forever to peel, worse
than chestnuts. Oh, and you can use them in stuffing like chestnuts, too!
--Anja--
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