It is late September, White and Red Oak trees are releasing their acorns to the forest floor. The time to gather is now before the Autumn leaves hide them with a blanket of Fall colors making them a bit harder to discover.
The humble Acorn is a forgotten super food, BUT I believe it will make a comeback because these tasty nuts lavishly provide us with many needed vitamins and minerals, they are high in starch and low in calories and astonishingly they are a complete protein with all 8 amino acids! They can not be eaten raw as other nuts because of their bitter tannins but with a little processing they are delicious made into a gluten free flour for breads and pastries, or eaten as any nut. They are worth the effort.
This Teaching Tuesday video class features the amazing Oak and it’s abundance of gifts for food and medicine.
Join Me to Discover:
• how Oak trees were revered throughout history
• how to tell the difference between White and Red Oaks
• learn the steps to process Acorns from identifying and gathering till you eat the final product (photos of each stage found in the slideshow beginning at 42:26)
• Acorn culinary ideas
• Acorn healing gifts
• the Oak trees usefulness
• beginning 39:49 watch my slideshow of foraging and herbing around in September
Additional Resource
I recently watched a fascinating Ted Talk on Acorns that presents a lot of helpful information. The presenter, Marcie Mayer, has made the study and consumption of acorns her life’s work. Marcie’s knowledge of their uses and nutritional benefits is mind boggling. Perhaps the two facts that arrested my attention the most were these:
1. The high content of tannins in an unprocessed acorn is a natural preservative and if properly dried can remain viable for a decade or more, thus acorns can be vital for food security.
2. Along with being a super food high in potassium, magnesium, fibre, iron, calcium, protein and most importantly of all…acorns are packed with polyphenols. Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds that go after sick cells and eat them.
Marcie’s presentation was so captivating that I ordered her book on Eating Acorns.
I am excited to expand my use of the acorn into more culinary adventures. Properly processed Acorns can be used as a gluten free flour, or as a nut in any recipe. Up to this point I have only made Acorn breads/pastries, and enjoy roasted Acorn coffee. More than ready to expand my Acorn bucket list.
Please share with me how you use acorns for food and for your wellbeing. I’d love to know.
Processing Acorns
The following slides show the steps to processing Acorns from identifying to eating. Mouse over the slides to read the text on screen.
Downloadable Handouts
Click on the image or button to download a printable handout.
“They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.“
Isaiah 61:3
White Oak acorns sprout in the Fall, Red Oaks wait till the following Spring to germinate giving a longer foraging window to gather them. I have had my eye on all the oaks from when their leaves were furled tightly inside their winter casings to their emergence in Spring. Watching these generous gentle giants in every phase of it’s growth through the years has made my life richer. Anticipating the harvest is almost as good as gathering it up.
Filling my basket with Acorns fills my heart and my mind with gratitude. “Great are the works of the Lord, they are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic are His works. He has made His wonders to be remembered.” Psalm 111:1-2
Acorns have sustained whole cultures for generations since time began, it is time to reclaim our wild heritage and gather these precious gifts.
Seeing Spring unfold. Tiny Red Oak leaves (Quercus rubra) unfurling in early May.
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