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Thread: Eating Acorns...NPR, 11/02/2014

  1. #21

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    I have yet to eat any. (Do to the fact that I can never get enough of them when I find them, and also my parents always through them away. =/) But I would keep the tannin water because the tannins can be used to tan hides.


  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic Fox View Post
    So basically to make acorn coffee you take two handfuls for several servings and boil them she'll included. After boiling, peel them from the shell. The boiling reduces bitterness and difficulty peeling. Then, peel the outer skin and split. Let them dry for 2 days then grind them up. After that you roast in oven for 30 minutes on 350. They are ready now! (Place 3 tbsp Ina cup of boiling water like you would with instant coffee.)
    Thank-you for that recipe.
    Last edited by Rick; 05-04-2015 at 08:36 AM. Reason: Restored Post

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    Let the squirrels eat the nuts, shoot the and eat the squirrels.
    What does squirrel taste similar to?
    Last edited by Rick; 05-04-2015 at 08:35 AM. Reason: Restored Post

  4. #24
    Senior Member DSJohnson's Avatar
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    Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat. The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough! Great flavor though. Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion. We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings. One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person. I have also broiled them over a fire.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Enigma View Post
    What does squirrel taste similar to?
    Chicken........
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  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Enigma View Post
    What does squirrel taste similar to?
    Rats..............
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  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    Rats..............
    Ya, well didn't want to say that....Look like them till you cut off the tail.

    Best take the meat off the bone and make a stew with it....or bake it with onion soup mix and onion straws and or tater tots.......and rice.
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  8. #28
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    You can speed your prep time by examining the acorn for worms, no sense spending time on a wormy nut. A little black spot on the shell indicate a wormy nut, usually it's where the cap connects to the nut. A unblemished shell indicates a healthy nut with good nutmeat.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by DSJohnson View Post
    Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat. The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough! Great flavor though. Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion. We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings. One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person. I have also broiled them over a fire.
    Thank-you DSJ, it sounds just like Kangaroo. Dark red and extremely lean.
    Last edited by Rick; 05-04-2015 at 08:34 AM. Reason: Restored Post

  10. #30
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Randy
    a wormy nut


    Hey! Who you callin' a .... oh, you meant.....never mind.

  11. #31
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    Acorns from White Oak trees are delicious and I cook with them fairly often. Nutmeats can be chopped or shredded (on a cheese grater) before adding to soups, stews and just about anything else to boost nutritional value and flavor. For a variation in flavor, I sometimes roast the acorns before adding them to a recipe.

    Unlike acorns from other Oak species, White Oak acorns (usually) do not need special pretreatment. Interestingly, the acorn flavor will vary from tree to tree, even of the same species! Flavors can also change from year to year on the same tree, sometimes for the better (or not). Once upon a time, my favorite White Oak tree up and went funky on me. The flavor wasn't horrible, but I missed the delightfully nutty flavor that was characteristic of that particular tree.

    I like to crack acorns open with a conventional nutcracker and stash the raw nutmeats in my freezer. Any time I have tried to store them in the shells at room temperature, I end up with a bunch of grubs on the loose no matter how carefully I scan the shells beforehand.

    This fall I will experiment with roasting chopped acorns in my cast-iron skillet (parched corn style) and storing the bits in a glass jar. I suspect I will need to keep an eye on it for mold and rancidity.
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  12. #32

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    i think it was mention its the the tannin is what gives most acorns the bitter taste. you can leach the tannins in flowing water. which takes away most of the bitterness. but if you cook them right. like in a hole with small stones or burying them in sand over which you have had a fire. most of the tannin taste goes away. and they are pretty good

  13. #33

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    I live in Northern California - yes I have had acorns, they can be disgusting if not processed correctly. First - never attempt to just eat one - the tannins can cause kidney damage (not fun). There are a number of ways to process them and eat them. Anyone who processed acorns in heat is doing them an injustice. They should be cold water leached and dried in the sun...the process can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to a year depending on what method you choose to process them. I have had water biscuit (not my favorite) and cakes - delicious and nutty, but should be eaten with honey or maple sugar or berries to help with the flavor. Much like Taro root in Hawaii, and oatmeal, one must add to the staple to make it more palatable

  14. #34
    Senior Member Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DSJohnson View Post
    Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat. The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough! Great flavor though. Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion. We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings. One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person. I have also broiled them over a fire.
    Try to avoid those old gamey with grey hair ones.... (kidding)

    For the rest of us.

    Here is the facts. NPR is the Government subsidized talk radio for the uniformed "feel good" Progressive. They have rolled out in the last four years about eating insects and other odd stuff, that would blow the mind. As they continue to roll out program after program that would make an average billy goat puke, they want everyone to eat like Andrew Zimmerman. They are getting ready for the time where there is nothing to eat and we double today's population. Reminds me of a movie... was that Soylent Green? That being said lets get to the nut meat of this audio.

    They do not mention there are better things to eat.
    They do not mention there are white Acorns that farmers used to grow.
    They do not mention there are easier sources of protein.
    They do not mention that the Gypsy Moth killed thousands of Oak trees here in Pa and decimated the Deer Population.

    Hense if you planted Oaks right now they may be blighted in the future.

    Need I go on?

    Several years ago I visited a 150 year old southern farm house near Haver-de-grace MD that had a Male and Female White Oaks in the front and they produced a 1/2 ton of nuts that did not require soaking. I understand that you can buy these trees for planting in fall and raise them below the mason dixon line. I would hope you folks look into this as well as raising other nut and fruit trees. Something I did as a young man.
    “There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

    Theodore Roosevelt 1907

  15. #35
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mazer View Post
    I live in Northern California - yes I have had acorns, they can be disgusting if not processed correctly. First - never attempt to just eat one - the tannins can cause kidney damage (not fun). There are a number of ways to process them and eat them. Anyone who processed acorns in heat is doing them an injustice. They should be cold water leached and dried in the sun...the process can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to a year depending on what method you choose to process them. I have had water biscuit (not my favorite) and cakes - delicious and nutty, but should be eaten with honey or maple sugar or berries to help with the flavor. Much like Taro root in Hawaii, and oatmeal, one must add to the staple to make it more palatable
    Sounds like a lot of fooling around for not much return....?
    Who would process acorns for a year...?
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  16. #36
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Crap, I'd forget I left them drying after a month and then wonder where all the acorns came from after six months.

    This is a learning day. I did not know I was an "uninformed feel good progressive". I'm not sure what that is but I listen to NPR quite often. I listen to jazz on NPR a lot. Well, as much as I can listen to music. I also watch PBS. I must be on some kind of subversive list for sure.

  17. #37

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    Acorns have been a staple food for our family and our community of instructors and apprentices over the last two decades. We use red oak because the shells float and the meat sinks, making mass processing a quick part of the process. Here is our method of collecting, storing, and using this free, nutritious, and stable food source. Gathering acorns you want to only gather those without the cap. Those with caps have been mechanically removed (rejected) by natures acorn gathering masters, crows, jays, ravens, squirrels, etc. Even with that, squeeze the acorn and inspect the top where the "cap" (technical name is involucre) was to determine if there is any off color or holes indicating a grub. If the shell doesn't give when you squeeze it and the top,looks uniform in coloration, toss it in the collecting basket. We gather about three hundred gallons and they last for about two years. Next, let your acorns dry. We made big drying racks and turned a bubba car port in to a drying house. It takes about thirty to ninety days depending on humidity, but once you can crack an acorn shell with your hands and the nut meat inside is shriveled, those acorns will keep for about three years in their original containers (shells). We store them in metal trash cans with lids so we don't end up eating too much red squirrel and chipmunk defending our acorns. It's happened. Once you are ready, gather acorns, mash them place them in a five gallon bucket. Fill with water. Scoop the shells the float to the top. Stir and repeat until no more shells float to the top. Pour out acorn mash and pick out any stubborn shell fragments clinging to the meat and dry. After drying the acorn meat you have to leach the tannins. While not my favorite as it isn't always effective, one way to leach the tannins from the nuts is to boil coarsely broken nut meat in several changes of water (which will turn brown as the tannins are removed from the nuts). The water is poured off between boilings and fresh water is again brought to a boil. This process is continued until the nut meat lacks the drying sensation (stringency) and the bitter taste. If it doesn't within three changes, the nut meat has fixed the remaining tannins and that batch is best used for squirrel bait. During the third and final change of water, the boiled liquid should be barely tinted with tannin. My favorite method is leaching in cold water in a container. This doesn’t alter the consistency of the nuts as much as boiling does and the flour made from the ground nuts remains together better during cooking. Cold water leaching requires the nuts be ground into a fine flour to increase the surface area. This facilitates the leaching process, but left stored, increases oxidation and loss of nutrients. The acorn flour is placed in a container filled with water, which is poured off at least three to five times a day after the ground nut meal has settled. This process is continued for five to seven days. This makes a meal that can be used for making hot cereal, breads, crackers, or anything you would use a flour for. My friend Arthur Haines makes an amazing acorn humus. There is a great video of a Pima Elder showing how this process was done primitively. Much Respect.

  18. #38
    Senior Member Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Thanks................................
    “There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

    Theodore Roosevelt 1907

  19. #39

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    Glad you mentioned the white acorns, wise old owl... I was just reading a book about the ancient Celtic peoples, and it talks about them storing acorns the same as any grain, there was a royal record taking stock of all the kings provisions and bushels of acorns were listed.

  20. #40

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    Acorns because of their bitterness have to be leeched there is a cold process and a hot process from watching survival processing. they have to be dried first. The cold process takes about 3 days and required shelling, grinding and soaking and pouring off the colored water on top this is called leeching and has to be repeated at least 2 times a day for 3 days. the boiling process requires repeated pouring to get out the tanins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QitkIGNwUgs

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