Eating ACORNS 🌰: How to Forage, Store, & Cook Acorns

pretty much everyone can identify an acorn even if they don't know that it's the seed of an oak tree but for all their ubiquity the fact that acorns are nutritious and edible is a fact that is almost completely absent from our modern western culture for the forager the acorn is a symbol of great hope when every oak tree from the deep forest to the city park starts to light up in your mind as a source of food the world looks different for this video alex be explaining my own method for processing acorns into usable delicious food i live in an off-grid homestead so i figured out how to do all these steps manually without the use of electricity and with multiple opportunities for mid-process stable storage because let's be honest sometimes life is full of interruptions i say all that so that you know that though this takes a bit of time an interested and motivated person can totally do this process without fancy equipment you have what it takes [Music] you can find acorns as an important part of the gastronomic lexicon of many different countries around the world from spain to italy to north africa to korea there you can find acorns roasted pressed into acorn oil brewed into acorn drinks and even cooked into a tofu-like acorn jelly on our own side of the ocean they were a vital food stuff to several native american nations but particularly those of northern california such as the huppah carrock miwok pomo and iraq you're probably aware that the majority of food cultures are centralized around a starchy staple crop whether it be corn rice potatoes millet wheat or what have you in order for a people to depend on those staples however they must live an agricultural lifestyle those northern native california communities were unique in that they were able to maintain non-agricultural lives because acorns filled that starchy staple need for the price of collecting and processing them rather than dedicating the year to cultivating them in one specific spot now i am not hypocritically advocating against agriculture of course but i hope it helps you realize the potential of having a bountiful nourishing harvest from trees that you neither need to plant nor tend so it's certainly a super sustainable source of sustenance say that five times fast if you're a homestead seeking self-sufficiency someday acorns give you an opportunity to draw a significant source of nutrition from the land adding stable diversity to your home-grown food portfolio and even if you don't have acres and acres of land you can still easily glean acorns that no one else wants to gain more control over your own diet resources if more people saw the acorns that rain on the sidewalk every fall as a gift rather than as an ankle turning annoyance could you imagine the impact it's food for thought certainly much more than a craft item or a decorative motif acorns may be one of america's most underutilized food resources most other foods we're going to learn about are the building blocks of a diet but acorns are the only one i've found that has the potential to be a viable foundation so let's get into the basics of turning this nut into dinner when i talk to people just beginning foraging they share without fail their fear of misidentifying a plane and poisoning themselves while there are a handful of plants that are dangerous the truth is there's far more harmless or useful plants out there and in terms of harvesting acorns the pickings couldn't be more friendly there's no dangerous look-alikes they're the only trina in north america with that distinctive cap covering the top basically if it looks like an acorn it's an acorn the only thing i could possibly imagine a foraging newbie missile identifying is perhaps mistaking a hold while hazelnut for a capless acorn but since hazelnuts are also deliciously edible as well it's no threat now there are two major groups of oaks that you'll likely encounter the red oaks who produce oil-rich bitternuts that dry quickly and the white oaks who produce more moist slightly less bitter nuts that dry more slowly identifying specific species of oats is not quite as important as being able to identify the difference between red and white types of acorns here's some general guidelines red oaks have leaves with pointed lobes and white oaks have leaves with rounded lobes acorns of red oaks have shells with a fuzzy interior and acorns of white oaks have shells with a smooth interior red oak acorns have scaly caps while white oak acorns have shaggy caps [Music] oaks have two distinct phases when they drop acorns an early drop and the good drop and some fantastically designed inexplicable way oak trees know what notes aren't developing well or which ones are infected with insects and so they rid themselves at the unworthwhile nuts as soon as they can many of these bad acorns that drop early will be unripe underdeveloped or still have their caps firmly attached which is a sure sign of a bad nut in the second drop that's the one you want to watch for it usually happens sometime in october these nuts are the good ones at least 90 of the acorns i gather from the second drop are absolutely perfect now of course not everybody has the luxury of a line of oak trees to monitor all fall so how can you tell the difference between a good and bad nut when they're all carpeting the ground good acorns look good and feel heavy in your hand they're usually a bit shiny like polished wood and have a clean looking tan disc on the top bad acorns come in many forms here's the ones to avoid discolored acorns or ones with dark spots on their sides are bad undersized nuts with the caps still attached were dropped early and are bad discolored spots on the disc are also indicators of bad nuts acorns with the caps still firmly attached are no good acorns that look weathered and dull are probably last year's acorns and usually rotten by this point and finally acorns with little holes in the side have been already eaten by acorn weevil grubs and are only full of frass though that might seem like a lot to remember once you become familiar with good and bad acorns you'll be able to distinguish them almost instinctively in the field as you collect them taking the time to try to only collect good clean nuts will save you a lot of trouble later on so it's worth the effort and it's a really pleasant task in the warm early fall as you enjoy the dappled sun with acorns pleasantly plunking into your bucket in terms of gathering nuts i most hardly recommend doing it by hand though there are nut picker upper type tools they're indiscriminate and can't tell the difference between a good nut a bad nut a rock or a bottle cap hands and a five gallon bucket do the job best when collecting acorns i advise you to keep red and white acorns separated in different buckets that way you can jump on cracking and processing the white oak acorns as soon as you can since white oak acorns contain a lot more water they mold very easily if left in the heat and it's super disappointing to put off sorting and drying your acorn hull for too long only to discover that your entire cache of nuts is now a stinky pile of blue mold the red oak acorns certainly shouldn't be left in a bucket unattended either but they can be spread on a single layer and easily dried in their shells until you're ready to work with them if you can't crack and process them immediately at least lay them out flat in a single layer somewhere where air can circulate around them a bed sheet spread in a dry place or a few old baking pans can also work just fine until you can get the nuts shelled be aware that more acorn weevil larvae are going to appear as soon as they eat their way out of the nuts even some good looking nuts are actually secretly host to the little grubby nut destroyers don't worry the grubs aren't harmful in the least and they can't re-infect other acorns and they don't bite all barnyard poultry will eat them with relish if you give them as a treat by the way be aware that these grubs sole desire is to get back into the ground so they can pupate and reinfect next year's crop of acorns it might be best to dispose of them somewhere far from your choice oak trees [Music] there are several options when it comes to cracking loads of acorns it can be as simple as smashing them open with a hammer layering them between two towels and a whacking them with a mallet or as sophisticated as buying a specialized nutcracker for the purpose i heartily recommend the dave built nutcracker as a huge time saver it's hand cranked it's made in america and it's built to last it's a solid tool that you'll be able to pass on to your kids it runs close to 200 but i can personally attest that the time and effort saved made it worth the price within our first season of harvesting acorns [Music] i do the bulk of my sorting after cracking the acorns separating the nut meats from the shells is a good activity to do with a friend in a conversation some good music or a group of competitive children but once they're cracked open the good is super easy to separate from the bat any that are moldy had clear evidence of being nibbled on or covered with dark spots can go into the chicken food or the compost bucket and all the tan waxy nice nut meats can either be dried for later processing or moved on to the next stage if you find that a lot of your fresh red oak acorns look good but just aren't coming out of their shells save yourself some frustration and dry them longer prying red oak nutmeats out of the shell is incredibly frustrating but they'll simply drop out of the shells if they're completely dry now while sorting you'll find lots of testos this is the dark brown papery coating over the nut some resources say that you have to remove every trace of the tester to have tasty flour but i found that it really doesn't make a difference now that pile of cleaned nutmeats should be dried until they're rock hard and moved on to the next stage of processing they can be stored for a long time during years with a very heavy acorn crop you can actually stock up on nuts to give you a cushion for when there's a poor crop next season so at this point either put your nuts into secure storage or move them on to the next step leeching leaching is the process of using water to remove the bitter water soluble tannins from the nuts and make them palatable it is possible to eat a single acorn raw with no ill effect but i don't know if you'd want to repeat that bitter experience there are three types of leeching cold leeching chemical leeching and hot leeching i'll only be detailing hot leaching here as it's the most beginner friendly and yields results quickly and satisfyingly now hot leaching acorns is simple put the acorns in a pan of water heat it to boiling drain off the dark brown water and repeat until a sampled nut no longer tastes bitter you can do this on a conventional stovetop during a rainy weekend but it's a lot easier and uses a lot less energy if it's done on a wood stove the various species of acorns take anywhere from three to ten water changes to have a sufficient amount of tannin removed you'll have to judge for yourself when they're ready when they are they taste sweet somewhat maple like and not at all bitter then you can consider them done some resources say that you need to wait until the water runs clear but it's not necessary taste is more important than looks now that your acorns are leached it's time to turn them into flour you are almost there hungry forager my method is to run the damp leeched acorn meat through an old fashioned hand crank meat grinder they're really easy to find in an antique market or at a thrift store the one pictured here was only four dollars so spread the damp nut meal back on a cookie sheet after it's been ground and allow it to dry completely if you have that wood stove place it at the base and stir it occasionally until it's bone dry this will take two days or so you can also do this in a dehydrator and or in a conventional oven at 170 degrees fahrenheit until again it's bone dry just whatever you do don't rush it if you store this flour even slightly wet it may mold and then all this hard work will end up in the compost pile the end result should be a very coarse dark brown flower it can be used as is or be run through a flower mill or a coffee grinder to produce even finer flour for baking either way you can now store it in an airtight container and use it at your leisure [Music] you can think of hot leached acorn flour in a vaguely similar way to cornmeal with no gluten to hold it together it won't form a springy bread like dough on its own but don't let that stop you from experimenting with eggs mixing it with wheat flour or some other starch and just seeing what can be done to let it shine as an ingredient in its own right rather than just an inclusion taste wise acorn flour is nutty earthy sweet and somewhat reminiscent of maple or molasses the hot leech method results in a very dark brown flower that will give a pumpernickel like color to whatever you mix it in with so with all those factors in mind let me share some ideas on how to make it into delicious food acorn bread the rich dark color and flavor of acorns are excellent in all types of bread from sourdough bowls to ginger snap flavored dessert breads you'll have to include some other flowers to get the dough to be workable but i heartily recommend you at least add a cup of fine ground acorn flour to your favorite recipe and see what happens acorn porridge i think porridge deserves much more time in the limelight as a delicious breakfast option simmer a cup of coarse acorn flour in 2 cups of water or make a 50 50 mix with coarse ground wheat or other grains for a nourishing start to the day add a pinch of salt a handful of raisins or a knob of butter and you'll make it something really special acorn pancakes served with a side of wild berries and a drizzle of home-tapped maple syrup you can prove to both yourself and your breakfast guests that wild food is the best food in the world you can also try acorn coffee roasted until fragrant and simmered for 15 minutes coarse ground acorn flour can be brewed into a rich coffee-ish drink that is comforting on its own and delectable with some sweetened spice milk now all this is just a tiny sampling of all the possibilities that await the home cook with a jar full of acorn flour i want to offer one more suggestion for the homesteader looking to utilize wild food to its full potential acorns can be a great feed supplement to many of our animals my ducks my chickens and goats have all relished eating acorns and acorn grubs in the fall the ducks and the goats can handle them raw and unshelled as they fall from the tree but my chickens have needed them smashed before they can get the nutmeats out i have no experience with feeding them to other livestock so my knowledge is limited to the effects on cows sheep or horses although i have heard about pigs really enjoying acorns too all the same acorns offer another self-sufficient option to the homesteader looking to provide for their animals needs directly from their own land rather than being entirely dependent on the feed store now for resources and further reading i have to recommend the best foraging books in the world if you're interested in the best foraging books in the world you need to check out the work of samuel fair his book nature's garden has the most thorough useful and insightful write-up on acorn foraging that i've found anywhere and he's got far more information and recipes than what i've presented here hank shaw is another name for those interested in foraging his recipes using acorns are positively amazing looking another place worth investigating is this excellent post by another homesteader also turning acorns into a diet staple for her own family practical self-reliance is full of excellent ideas including her attempts with acorn pasta and acorn cheese and then for those foragers out there closer to the foodie side of the spectrum pascal baudar is your man he has been transforming wild foods into super fancy epicurean delights with a fervor that needs to be seen to be believed some of his creations may be a little bit more complicated than is practical for everyday fair but if you're looking for inspiration he is a great source of it this fall i hope you take the chance to forage process and truly enjoy this amazing free ingredient and if you come up with some own recipes or find a good one online please don't hesitate to share it [Music]

Channel: Insteading

Views: 138,846

Rating: 4.9401956 out of 5

Keywords: foraging, insteading, acorns, baking, pancakes, acorn, oak, acorn flour, acorn coffee, acorn gathering, acorn history, acorn pancakes, homestead, homesteading, gardening, farming, garden, forest, city foraging

Id: qLo3UWh-BN4

Length: 15min 15sec (915 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 16 2021