Post by braided-rug on Nov 3, 2005 21:42:15 GMT 10
I didn't know you could eat acorns until sunshine told us. I know they are like flour inside. I love acorns, they are so cute.
Here some recipes:
"Acorns
A few white oaks have acorns sweet enough to be eaten raw or roasted. But, most oaks have extremely bitter acorns. The bitterness is due to the tannins. The acorns must be processed in boiling water to remove the tannins.
Put the acorns in a pot of water and remove any that float. Boil for 15 minutes. Shell the acorns, chop them up, and boil again. (You can boil them in cheesecloth so you don't lose any pieces.) When the water turns brown, pour it off, add more water and boil again. Repeat until water no longer turns brown. Taste one to see if the bitterness is gone. If not, boil them until the bitterness is gone, then dry them in the oven at a very low heat.
Acorn meal is made by grinding dry, raw acorn kernels, mixing the meal with the boiling water and pressing out the liquid through a jellybag. This process may be repeated several times with very bitter acorns.
The meal is then spread thinly on shallow pans and dried in the sun or a very slow oven. It usually becomes partly caked during this process so it must be reground, using a food chopper or hand grist mill. Acorn grits can be made by grinding up not quite as fine.
Both acorn meal and grits are very dark-colored with a sweet, nutlike flavor. A lighter colored meal can be made with cold water leaching or rinsing.
Harvest: Fall - Nuts
Roasted Acorns
3 cups water
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 to 8 Tbsp curry powder 1 heaping quart acorns
(processed to remove tannins)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp seasoned salt
Boil 2-1/2 cups water. While this boils, put another 1/2 cup water in a blender with garlic, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup curry powder. Blend until smooth. Add this to the boiling water along with acorns and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain acorns. In a baking dish, add acorns, olive oil, salt, and rest of curry powder. Roast at 300 degrees for 45 to 90 minutes, stirring often, until the acorns are dry and well-roasted, but not hard.
Acorn Bread
Sift together dry ingredients:
1 cup Acorn Meal
1 cup white flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt Beat together:
1 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons salad oil
Add this to the dry ingredients and stir just enough to moisten everything. Pour into a greased pan and bake in a 400'(f) oven for 30 minutes.
Or...Acorn Muffins:
You can fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full of the same batter and bake only 20 minutes.
Acorn Pancakes
2 cups acorn meal
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp shortening 1 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
Mix all ingredients. Cook like regular pancakes. They are delicious, tasting much like rich brown bread.
From: indianspringherbs.com/Acorns.htm#RoastedAcorns
Sounds good, is there a danger if I try this with the girls in a few months when the acorns are ripe again sunshine?
Here some recipes:
"Acorns
A few white oaks have acorns sweet enough to be eaten raw or roasted. But, most oaks have extremely bitter acorns. The bitterness is due to the tannins. The acorns must be processed in boiling water to remove the tannins.
Put the acorns in a pot of water and remove any that float. Boil for 15 minutes. Shell the acorns, chop them up, and boil again. (You can boil them in cheesecloth so you don't lose any pieces.) When the water turns brown, pour it off, add more water and boil again. Repeat until water no longer turns brown. Taste one to see if the bitterness is gone. If not, boil them until the bitterness is gone, then dry them in the oven at a very low heat.
Acorn meal is made by grinding dry, raw acorn kernels, mixing the meal with the boiling water and pressing out the liquid through a jellybag. This process may be repeated several times with very bitter acorns.
The meal is then spread thinly on shallow pans and dried in the sun or a very slow oven. It usually becomes partly caked during this process so it must be reground, using a food chopper or hand grist mill. Acorn grits can be made by grinding up not quite as fine.
Both acorn meal and grits are very dark-colored with a sweet, nutlike flavor. A lighter colored meal can be made with cold water leaching or rinsing.
Harvest: Fall - Nuts
Roasted Acorns
3 cups water
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 to 8 Tbsp curry powder 1 heaping quart acorns
(processed to remove tannins)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp seasoned salt
Boil 2-1/2 cups water. While this boils, put another 1/2 cup water in a blender with garlic, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup curry powder. Blend until smooth. Add this to the boiling water along with acorns and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain acorns. In a baking dish, add acorns, olive oil, salt, and rest of curry powder. Roast at 300 degrees for 45 to 90 minutes, stirring often, until the acorns are dry and well-roasted, but not hard.
Acorn Bread
Sift together dry ingredients:
1 cup Acorn Meal
1 cup white flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt Beat together:
1 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons salad oil
Add this to the dry ingredients and stir just enough to moisten everything. Pour into a greased pan and bake in a 400'(f) oven for 30 minutes.
Or...Acorn Muffins:
You can fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full of the same batter and bake only 20 minutes.
Acorn Pancakes
2 cups acorn meal
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp shortening 1 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
Mix all ingredients. Cook like regular pancakes. They are delicious, tasting much like rich brown bread.
From: indianspringherbs.com/Acorns.htm#RoastedAcorns
Sounds good, is there a danger if I try this with the girls in a few months when the acorns are ripe again sunshine?
