Acorns

[Weedygarden]

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a tree. Horse chestnut contains significant amounts of a poison called esculin and can cause death if eaten raw.

Horse chestnut also contains a substance that thins the blood. It makes it harder for fluid to leak out of veins and capillaries, which can help prevent water retention (edema). The horse chestnut fruits contain seeds that look like the sweet chestnut but have a bitter taste.

People most commonly take horse chestnut seed extracts by mouth to treat poor circulation that can cause the legs to swell (chronic venous insufficiency or CVI). It's also used for many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these other uses.

Be careful not to confuse Aesculus hippocastanum (Horse chestnut) with Aesculus californica (California buckeye) or Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye). Some people call any of these plants horse chestnut, but they are different plants with different effects.

Thank you. I know I could never discern the difference between the two varieties if I found them growing somewhere.

 

[Neb]

Thank you. I know I could never discern the difference between the two varieties if I found them growing somewhere.

So The Princess has been slowly poisoning with her "secret family recipe" all these years ?!?

It's not as if I haven't given a good reason mind you.

Ben

 

[Magus]

Question,

I can buy peanuts, pecans ,walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, and others.
I've never seen acorn nuts for sale.

Why?

BTW, I've never ate an acorn, but I suppose in shtf , I would consider them.

I'd like to hear from someone that has eaten them.

Jim

I have. properly prepared, they're good. Mine was a kind of porridge called "pinole"
They have a nutty flavor that tastes like no other nut, kind of a cross between a mild peanut and grits.
Blanche them for three days in running water, gently roast them and de hull them with a rolling pin on a cutting board,
crush them into a gritty meal and boil them with dried fruit and add butter. its like granola.

 

[Weedygarden]

I have. properly prepared, they're good. Mine was a kind of porridge called "pinole"
They have a nutty flavor that tastes like no other nut, kind of a cross between a mild peanut and grits.
Blanche them for three days in running water, gently roast them and de hull them with a rolling pin on a cutting board,
crush them into a gritty meal and boil them with dried fruit and add butter. its like granola.

This reminds me of what I have read about processing them in "the olden days." Acorns were often put in a bag, such as a gunny sack, and left in a stream to remove the tannins.

 

[Jay]

I have a large white oak tree behind the house. There is little, if any tannin in the acorns. I have just cracked them open and eaten them a number of times, Trees of this type are few and far between.

 

[joel]

I ate an acorn as a child after hearing Indians/NA eat them, it was chalky & bitter. Years later I learn that Tannen is not good & you should wash the ground nuts /acorns. It will never be great in a world of too sweet or too salty, but it will keep you alive.
My bet is to plant the tree that bare your favorite domesticated nuts, problem solved.
If you like a lots of peanuts, remember Gypsum pellets help the nuts develop.

 

[SoJer]

Bumper year... here.

..Yeah, you ain't kiddin! For us, it's 'Coast Live Oak'ers, out here.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_agrifolia

..Nice and Big and Fat.. and we've got - No exaggeration - I'd guesstimate ~20,000+ of them, at a Minimum, within a 30-40' radius of the tree - it's Insane!

..even found some 'Green Tip', heh..

(..wonder if I can 'Load' that in maybe a .50 BMG-casing?

Anyway, there's exponentially-more than the 'Squirrels' will Ever 'take' / eat, so.. Think I'm gonna give a whirl to try and 'process' / make some Flour, at least.. (..yes, will 'avoid the Black ones' - I assume that's from boku-tannins-Inside, especially given I've read that these-particular Acorns are high in tannins, anyway.. Better for 'LTS'ing them, perhaps, but no need to 'add work' to an already tedious process..)

..Looking forward to the Learning, anyway! Just wish we had an nice 'DIY mud/straw Wood-oven' to bake the bread / whatever in.. Maybe someday..

PS -

No acorns here this year. Too dry. Squirrels are hungry.

Pfff, shoot me yer mailing address.. I'll gift ya a 30 gal drum-full (and Still have enough leftovers to outdo Any 'Church Bake-Sale' in the County!

jd

 

[joel]

Do you have the tiny crow chestnut or just the big chestnut. The guy I bought some of my blue berry plants from had both, the small nuts where for the birds.

The Allegheny chinkapin, also called common chinkapin, may well be the most ignored and undervalued native North American nut tree. It has been widely hailed as a sweet and edible nut and has been of value to its cousin, the American chestnut's breeding programs. It is, however, a small nut encased in a tough bur which makes for difficulties in harvesting the nut.
https://www.treehugger.com/the-essential-chinkapin-1343342https://www.preppergardens.com/Chinquapin-Bush-for-Preppers-p/nut-chinquapin.htmhttps://ozarkchinquapinmembership.org/about-the-tree/

 

[joel]

Castanea pumila, commonly known as the Allegheny chinquapin, American chinquapin (from the Powhatan) or dwarf chestnut, is a species of chestnut native to the southeastern United States. The native range is from Maryland and extreme southern New Jersey and southeast Pennsylvania south to central Florida, west to eastern Texas, and north to southern Missouri and Kentucky. The plant's habitat is dry sandy and rocky uplands and ridges mixed with oak and hickory to 1000 m elevation. It grows best on well-drained soils in full sun or partial shade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castanea_pumila

 

[Magus]

Question,

I can buy peanuts, pecans ,walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, and others.
I've never seen acorn nuts for sale.

Why?

BTW, I've never ate an acorn, but I suppose in shtf , I would consider them.

I'd like to hear from someone that has eaten them.

Jim

I've eaten them prepared right and I've eaten them prepared wrong, done right, they have a mild sweetness and an underlying nuttiness that no other nut can really be said to taste like, they make for a very tasty "grits" like dish called "Pinole" I forgot the name of the "Trail mix" like thing with the berries and deer jerky in it.

Granted all this is after they have soaked in
running water three days and had the acid
leeched out and then dried or roasted.

Prepared wrong, its the worst night you'll ever have in the outhouse
begging god to kill you. it feels like passing gravel coated in hot sauce,
and the gas is akin to a dead cat.

 

[joel]

Question,

I can buy peanuts, pecans ,walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, and others.
I've never seen acorn nuts for sale.

Why?

BTW, I've never ate an acorn, but I suppose in shtf , I would consider them.

I'd like to hear from someone that has eaten them.

Jim

I understand & agree we should know how to process acorns, but planting hickory, walnuts, blk walnuts, Pecans, peanuts, hazel nuts & fruit trees is a better plant. It will taste better too.

 

[Neb]

I understand & agree we should know how to process acorns, but planting hickory, walnuts, blk walnuts, Pecans, peanuts, hazel nuts & fruit trees is a better plant. It will taste better too.

Isn't that a different question?

What can we do with what we have?
Vs
What should we have?

Ben

 

[Weedygarden]

 

[angie_nrs]

Our ground is covered with acorns this year. I can pick up a 5 gallon bucket of them in no time.

Apples and bees have also been high in numbers this year as well.

 

[Pearl]

We don't have near as many as some years! Guessing the drought!!

 

[Dani]

I will say that you should NEVER trim branches that have green acorns to throw to your live stock. My neighbor did this before leaving for a weekend get away to come home to every goat dead.

 

[winds-of-change]

This is our first fall in our country home. So far I don’t see many acorns but what does show up will be left for the deer to eat.

 

[forcast]

Biggest fall of acorns in 20 years. Not a happy camper with our metal roof. Its been horrible

 

[Tim Horton]

Biggest fall of acorns in 20 years. Not a happy camper with our metal roof. Its been horrible
-- -- --
Chuckle... When I lived in the bush I also had the constant rat-a-tat on the metal roof from small pine cones.. Dried and dipped in melted candles and crayons they made good fire starters..

Years ago I read that processing acorns to be edible was a lot of work.. I would be interested in the taste, but not enough to process myself.. Raked and gathered I'm sure they would make good domestic pig food, wild boar bait.. Also if rough chopped, ground chickens might like that ?? Good luck..

 

[LadyLocust]

Biggest fall of acorns in 20 years. Not a happy camper with our metal roof. Its been horrible
-- -- --
Chuckle... When I lived in the bush I also had the constant rat-a-tat on the metal roof from small pine cones.. Dried and dipped in melted candles and crayons they made good fire starters..

Years ago I read that processing acorns to be edible was a lot of work.. I would be interested in the taste, but not enough to process myself.. Raked and gathered I'm sure they would make good domestic pig food, wild boar bait.. Also if rough chopped, ground chickens might like that ?? Good luck..

I was just thinking feed them to the pigs then eat the pigs

 

[Weedygarden]

I haven't seen any acorns this year. There are a few oak trees in and outside of my local dog park. The big challenge is the squirrels that go under the trees and the dogs chasing those squirrels. Not a problem this year!

 

[Weedygarden]

After reading through the comments, I wondered if a person could purchase acorn flour. Yes, it is out there. Someone has some for sale on Etsy for $53.00 a pound! Okay, got acorns and could use a little extra cash? Gather acorns, soak them to remove the tannins, and process them.

Acorn Flour 1 Lb./ 450 Gr. Oak Acorn Flour Oak Flour - Etsy

 

[Weedygarden]

 

[Magus]

We have three different kinds of oaks here, not an acorn between them.there never is.

 

[Tim Horton]

To anyone who has used acorn flour.... I'm curious...
Will it stand alone as a wheat or other grain flour substitute ??
For instance.. Can you use it in a bread maker machine or the like ??
Or is it best as a traditional flour extender or flavor ingredient ??
Facts, details, experience ??

 

[Dani]

I'm glad you posted this video! When I see a thread about acorns my second thought is about the flour. And then just roasting to crack open to eat.

 

[Weedygarden]

I'm glad you posted this video! When I see a thread about acorns my second thought is about the flour. And then just roasting to crack open to eat.

There are many videos about making acorn flour. I have never gathered acorns, but like many wild things to forage, think it might be good to know about what it takes to make it and use it.

 

[Weedygarden]

To anyone who has used acorn flour.... I'm curious...
Will it stand alone as a wheat or other grain flour substitute ??
For instance.. Can you use it in a bread maker machine or the like ??
Or is it best as a traditional flour extender or flavor ingredient ??
Facts, details, experience ??

I've never used acorn flour. I've never seen it. But I wonder the same thing.

I shared on the squash thread about someone in another group who harvested more than 700 pounds of squash this year. She dehydrated it and then made it into flour. That is way cheaper than buying flour, and also a good thing to think about if we are starving. Grow a bunch of squash and then use it to bake with. I think the same thing with acorns. If we have an idea that we could gather them and use them to stave off starvation, it would help.

 

[Magus]

I've eaten Pinole, I liked it. its made by blanching acorns in water for three days, changing it every day, then roasting and grinding the nuts into grits.

 

[Magus]

It's a good filler for Pemmican too.