Like most tree nuts, acorns are an excellent source of nutrition and have been a health food resource and main ingredient in many recipes since ancient times. Now they are back in fashion, which is good, because they are rich in B vitamins and proteins, are low in fat and are a good complex carbohydrate, useful in controlling blood sugar levels. All species of acorns are edible, but some are more palatable than others. However, it is important not to consume them raw: in order not to risk consuming a toxic food with a bitter taste, it is necessary to subject them to a preventive treatment. Here are the guidelines and some tips to turn them into a great food.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Treating Acorns to Make Them Edible
Step 1. Collect ripe acorns
Take only the brown ones, i.e. the ripe ones. Green acorns are still unripe and unfit for consumption (but, if they are not too unripe, they can ripen if stored in a clean, dry place). Avoid fruits that appear moldy, blackened, dusty, etc. Quality acorns are yellowish in color. Below you will find a list of characteristics of the fruits coming from various types of oaks:
- White oak produces tasteless acorns. The best to harvest are those produced by the Quercus bicolor variety, the Oregon white oak and the Quercus macrocarpa variety. The latter generally do not require leaching.
- Red oak produces bitter-tasting acorns.
- The fruits produced by the Quercus emoryi oak are sweet enough not to require leaching.
- Oaks of the Quercus kelloggii and Quercus velutina varieties produce extremely bitter acorns, and for this they must be treated extensively before becoming edible.
Step 2. Eliminate tannins through the leaching process
Raw untreated acorns contain tannic acid in large quantities, which is due to their bitter taste and toxicity to humans when consumed in abundance. It is possible to eliminate the tannic acid by simply extracting it through the filtering effect of a pot of boiling water, throwing away the used water and changing it several times. Repeat this process until the water is clear (and no longer brown).
- Another method of leaching is to put a tablespoon of baking soda in a liter of water. Leave the acorns to soak in the baking soda and water for 12-15 hours.
- A more "rustic" method, practiced by Native Americans, is to put the acorns in a bag and soak them in clean, running water for a few days, checking every now and then until the water that comes out is perfectly clear.
Step 3. Remove the acorns when they are treated and simply let them dry
Raw fruits can be kept for months without deteriorating: this considerably increases their value, as they become a "food resource treated as needed". However, they must be perfectly dry, otherwise they will mold and spoil. Remember: only after undergoing the leaching process do they become edible.
Method 2 of 2: Recipes for Cooking Acorns
Step 1. Make acorn "coffee"
Shell the ripe and treated acorns. Divide the kernels. Place them in a saucepan and cover them. Toast them in the oven at a low temperature, so that they dry slowly. When roasted (with light, medium or dark roast), grind them. The mixture thus obtained can be mixed with "real" coffee or used alone.
Step 2. Make wholemeal acorn flour, or sift it to remove the fiber and produce a more refined cake flour called acorn starch
Read the How to Make Acorn Flour article (in English) for instructions. Use flour to make bread, muffins, and other baked goods.
Korean cuisine is definitely the only one to make extensive use of acorn starch. Some types of Korean noodles and jellies are based on acorn starch. Since this ingredient is the most popular in the culinary tradition of this country, many ethnic shops of Asian products sell it
Step 3. Put the acorns in a jar, in brine
Take inspiration from a recipe for making pickled olives (see, for example, How to Store Olives | this article) and, instead, use acorns - the result will be delicious.
Step 4. Use roasted acorns instead of nuts and legumes
They can successfully replace many varieties of legumes and nuts, such as chickpeas, peanuts, macadamia nuts etc. Follow the recipes that are familiar to you and replace the original ingredients with acorns. Like many dried fruit, they represent a nutritious and substantial food, to be freely introduced into your dietary routine.
- Make acorn dukkah, a very versatile spicy compound, but eaten mainly as a bruschetta, on a slice of bread with olive oil or butter.
- Sprinkle fresh vegetable salads with chopped toasted acorns.
Step 5. Toast the acorns
After roasting, dip them in a very thick sugar syrup.
- Make an acorn crunch based on this recipe. Spread it on a greased plate to cool.
- Make acorn butter spread. The process is similar to making peanut, almond, hazelnut or sunflower seed butter.
- Use acorn starch to make pancakes (a kind of crepes) or low-carb cookies. Add a layer of acorn butter and a pinch of stevia!
Step 6. Combine them with a stew, just like with legumes or potatoes
Their sweet aftertaste, with a vague hint of walnuts, will pleasantly flavor it.
Step 7. Add grains of acorns to mashed potatoes or potato salad
This will give the dish a boost of flavor, turning it into a "conversation dish".
Advice
- The ideal season for collecting acorns in the Northern Hemisphere is between September and October (late summer).
- If you have a crusher, extract acorn oil. It is an oil with similar properties to that of olive and is used in Algeria and Morocco.
- In Germany, acorns are used to prepare a sweet drink called "Eichel Kaffee", while in Turkey to make "racahout", a kind of spiced hot chocolate.
- Some Native Americans referred to acorns as the "grain of the trees," as they were made into flour and then into dishes.
-
Get Nutritional Benefits: Like all nuts, acorns are a protein-rich food. They do not have a high fat content like some other nuts, but they are a decent source of complex carbohydrates and fiber (if whole). They also contain some vitamins and minerals.
Some studies have shown that, like all dried fruit, they provide substances that can counteract bad cholesterol and lower blood sugar
Warnings
- To collect only good and healthy acorns, proceed as follows: sit under an oak tree as the Native Americans do and collect them, being careful to put the buggy ones in a garbage can, so as not to run the risk of collecting them again. Also… keep acorns collected from different trees separate (at least separate them based on oak variety). When you're done, put them in a bucket full of water and lather whatever surfaces. Throw away the rotten acorns that come to the surface or, better yet, let them dry and burn them, as they may contain worms that are trying to dig their way out - that's why they float. The fewer worms in circulation, the fewer adult worms will lay eggs - resulting in more edible acorns. Acorns that don't float are good. If they are still green, keep them in the shade in a dry place until they turn brown.
- Maggot acorns are infested with worms, and moldy, blackened, or dusty-looking acorns are to be avoided.
