Re: growing only three and...acorns

[Guest guest]

There are some acorns (in the white oak family) that have a lot

less tannin in them then others. Small quantities can be consumed

raw and I bet those are the types that the grandma used. Most

acorns need water to eat, the tannin is water soluable and is all

through the nut meat not just the chafe. The only way to get it out

is through water. Most of the time that involves crushing the

nutmeat and then subjecting it to a series of water rinses. Hot

water works much better than cold. The basic way in the kitchen is

to dump the crushed acorns into boiling water, boil them until the

water looks grungy, then change with fresh boiling water, this may

take a few water changes to do but is pretty quick. Then you can

use the nutmeat to cook. An easier way if you have running water is

to crush the acorns up and put them in a sock, hold the sock under

the hot running water from your faucet for a few minutes. Try them

every now and then and when the acorn isn't bitter anymore it's

ready. I don't like the sock method much but it works.

Incidently, that brown gunk in the first boiling is an awesome

high tannin liquid for doing an external skin wash. It takes the

place of soap when you don't have any and cures all kinds of nasty

skin conditions (poison ivy, infections, abrasions, sunburns,

etc.). Just the cleansing value alone makes it a premo substance to

know how to make. In a pinch it's can be used internally for

dysentery and such and thus it's high on the list for wilderness

remedies but keep in mind it's hard on the kidneys and thus

contraindicated for certain folks. But sometimes dysenterry is a

bigger threat than renal stress. Boiling oak bark (the innerbark)

will do the same. There's a bunch of other plants high in tannin

one can use similiarly. A herbal classic for kids diarhea is a cup

of blackberry root infusion. That's gentler than the full bore

acorn boiling but is still based on the tannins binding one up

principle.