Can You Eat Acorns or Are Acorns Edible?

Can people actually eat acorns? The short answer is yes, people have been eating acorns for thousands of years and are still doing so today. The difference between today and 150 years ago are the improvements of technology and the urbanization of today’s society. In the past, it took a great deal of effort to clear land for planting, so much of it was done a little bit at a time with the use of hand axes and fire. Until a field was ready for planting, people would gather the nuts of the forest for use in their breads and other dishes they ate. One of those nuts that people regularly ate was the acorn. I know that anyone who has actually pealed back the shell of an acorn and took a bite quickly spit it out due to the foul taste. That taste, or tannins, that are part of the acorn meat is the same material that people used to tan the hides of the animals that were hunted in order to create the shoes and leather products that they were dependant upon.

So not only is the acorn edible, but it actually had a second use in the preservation of hides and other leather products. So how are acorns altered to make them an actual tasty food and not the bitter, foul tasting nut that we tried as a child? The process is a simple one, but it does take a bit of time. One of the reasons that corn and wheat are so popular as they are ready to use right off of the plant. In the case of the acorn, the first process is the gathering, which due to the nature of an oak tree, is usually done by hand. The acorns are available during the months of September thru October, but can be harvested as early as August depending upon your location. Just look for the acorns that have fallen off the tree and still have their caps on and have no holes in them. The cap is the hat like device that is located on one end of the nut.

The reason for only using the acorns with caps is that there is a little worm that loves acorns and will bore from the inside out leaving a hole in the acorn. If the acorn is without a cap, it is believed that it fell out of the tree due to the additional weight of the worm, thus loosing its cap. So try and avoid the holed acorns missing caps or be prepared to eat a bit more protein than you planned.

After harvesting, use a pair of pliers to pop off the cap of the nut, crack it and peel off the thin skin surrounding the nut. At this point, look at the color of the nut to be sure it is yellow and not black or has holes. A black nut has rotted and will not taste good and the holes have already been explained. Just be sure to look carefully as we don’t need any surprises later on.

Once you have a good amount of nuts peels and your bowl is full, break out your food processor with the small blades. What you will do is grind the nuts a bit at a time with your food processor, so that you have a coarse meal. Think corn meal and not flour as you don’t want the nuts processed too much as then the removal of the bitter tannins will be more difficult.

After you meal has been created, fill a bowl half full with the meal and add boiling water to it. Let it sit for about an hour and then drain off the excess water. Repeat this process a few times until the meal loses its bitter taste. Place all of the treated meal into cheesecloth or old, (clean), T-shirt and squeeze and drain of the excess water. Once this is complete, spread the meal onto a cookie pan and bake it at 175 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Be sure to check it often and crumble any large chunks as you are trying to dry off the meal before storage and moisture in our acorn meal will cause mold. Once the meal is dry, you can store it in the freezer or fridge for an extended period of time, but if you store it in the cabinet, be aware the oils in the acorns will cause it to go rancid fairly quickly.

Now you can use your newly created meal in your bread and pancakes just like you would use wheat flour. Be aware, like wheat flower, acorn flour is heavier than white flour and will take a bit more effort to get it to rise. One option is to add a bit of white flour and that will help the bread rise, (with a bit of yeast), and keep it from breaking apart. So are you ready for some acorn bread?

Enjoy!