A Bowl of Acorns |
Then, we carefully crack the shells and remove the nutmeat (I use a little hammer and a pick).
Cracking Acorns (with a Hammer!) |
Shelling Acorns |
We shell about 2 cups worth of nuts because this is our first experiment.
Acorn Nutmeat |
Removing Acorn Tannins by Boiling Method |
The verb leach, by the way, means to drain away and remove. Here I am, leaching bitterness out of acorns, and the spiritual parallel rises up as surely as the sweet smell of acorn nutmeat. Those nuts submit to the process of cleansing, of uncomfortably stressful temperatures, over a long period of time. No wonder life seems hard sometimes.
Perhaps I'm being leached.
Finally, I take the leached nuts and grind them in a food processor. I want a course grind for a hearty, nutty bread.
Grinding the Acorn Nuts |
Acorn Flour for Bread |
Acorn Bread Loaf |
The bread tastes absolutely delicious. It's a warm, nutty, rich bread that the girls spread with sweet cream butter for breakfast. I'm not an expert in acorns, but the research claims that as long as you leach out the tannins, your acorns can provide muffins, breads, pancakes, cakes, and a whole variety of baked goods.
But you need that fresh water, boiled for a long time.
Lord, leach me. Remove every bitter thing in my heart.
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Journal: Can you imagine the work that went into making food in centuries past?
So awesome! I've always wondered about how you make acorn flour!
ReplyDeleteI just told my husband we could start a cottage industry making acorn flour. We have 6 oak trees; three red oak and two live oak. So, there would be a steady stream of acorns. :) We've wished they would go away every year for the past 30 or so years, but we are rewarded every year with a mighty harvest.
ReplyDeleteBut what will the squirrels eat?
ReplyDeleteI have often thought how easy it is to get food in these days. So much of the backbreaking work is done for us.
ReplyDeletecame over from mckmama blog... I too collected some acorns to eat... check out my post about it... thanks for the recipe and how to. I will definitely use it. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://creatingtreasures.blogspot.com/2011/10/beautiful-fall.html
blessings,
tereza
Awesome! My neighbor roasted her acorns after leaching the tannins and she thought they ended up too dry. But processing them while they were still wet would cut down on the work a little and you could just freeze portions to use later. We will definitely do this another year. Especially as the girl get older and can help with the nut cracking and collecting. I wonder how it would taste in a banana bread type recipe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed description (I'd like to do muffins now) – and the hint that there ist a hidden spiritual gift in leaching ...
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing. It better be after all of the work you went through. I've never heard of doing that with acorns. Cool!
ReplyDeleteYou are awesome H! I know the girls loved doing this! I bet it made your home smell so nice. miss ya,
ReplyDeletemelis
what a great illustration ... thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete