# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Eating Acorns...NPR, 11/02/2014

## tjwilhelm

National Public Radio just did an interesting story on eating acorns.  Have any of you ever done it?  What was your experience?

Here's a link to the NPR story:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...content=202502

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## natertot

I tried an acorn once as a nut. It was gross. Never cared to spend the time to process one into something else after that.

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## MrFixIt

My grandmother once made some type of "hoecakes" from the meal she processed, was pretty tasty with sorghum syrup...at least I thought so as a kid...

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## Graf

After flushing the tannins out 3 times, letting them dry,crushing them and making patties of them, alot of work but tasted okay. As a survival food if thats all you have then okay to go. I will warn not to over cook them they can get hard as rock. I want to try them added to bannock at some point.

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## Winnie

I recalled reading how during the Civil War Acorns were processed to make a Coffee substitute.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...t=acorn+coffee

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## Arctic Fox

There is an article on acorn coffee in a backwoodsman magazine I have.

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## Arctic Fox

So basically to make acorn coffee you take two handfuls for several servings and boil them she'll included. After boiling, peel them from the shell. The boiling reduces bitterness and difficulty peeling. Then, peel the outer skin and split. Let them dry for 2 days then grind them up. After that you roast in oven for 30 minutes on 350. They are ready now! (Place 3 tbsp Ina cup of boiling water like you would with instant coffee.)

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## Adventure Wolf

I have never done it, but I think I will try now.

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## Arctic Fox

I've never done it either but I went back to the magazine so I could post instructions if anyone wanted to try

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## Graf

Thought all might enjoy this info, looks like you will have to click on the last 2 recipes

Acorn Hide Tanning 1 of 2.jpgAcorn Hide Tanning 2 of 2.jpgAcorn Recipes 2.docAcorn Recipes.doc

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## David K

I've eaten acorns before.
Back about 30 years ago myself and two friends had were on an extended camping trip in the Las Padres Natl Forest, Piru Creek. We stayed on a section of higher ground, ironically at an old Native site that had mortar holes in the huge boulders (and several large oak trees). It was fall and during the stay a storm brought in high water on the river- which prevented us leaving on our scheduled pick-up date.
For two further weeks we were marooned there (the high mtn slope behind us blocked an alternative exit route)

We didn't have enough food to last us much longer so we gathered what supplies we did have and worked out a way of stretching it using acorns.
We put acorns in pancake mix, snacked on roasted acorn nuts during the day, made fried acorn patties for dinner... acorns, acorns, acorns. Never ending gathering & leaching. I was the designated cook so I remember it well.
Luckily we had cooking utensils, and left over cooking oil, butter, flour, salt & spices, plus some canned items... we also had plastic 5 gallon buckets.

On the first day we all sat in the big, screened mess-hall tent (where I slept & cooked, and also where a mortar hole-in-rock was located) shucking hulls from acorns we gathered. We quartered them and tossed them in buckets, next brought the buckets to the edge of the river to sit under water for leaching- This turned into a comedy of errors, suffice to say we quickly decided boiling the acorns might be the better option. What I did was to take river water in the 4-quart pot and boil half full of acorns for 20 mins (acorns hulled and quartered), dump water, refill, boil again for 20 mins. This removed enough tannic acid for us to eat them with other foods but it wasn't perfect, some batches I boiled a third time for 5 of 10 mins or so (for the nuts we ate plain salted & roasted).

It was an interesting experience. I don't think I ever ate acorns again after that but only because I never found the occasion, the memory of the taste still lingers a bit on my tongue, or in the pit of my stomach- I should have boiled all the batches 3 times. 
But it wasn't bad. We walked out of there two weeks later perfectly healthy and happy.

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## TXyakr

That survival show on The Weather Channel had on episode were the guys were trained to soak them in a Creek by Mr Creek.
Similar to effort to consume "smilax" (green briar) tuber/roots. How about "pig nuts" from hickory tree. If you are very hungry and have time.
Edit: As a young kid I first read about eating acorns in the book "My Side of the Mountain". So I tried it and decided I would always pack at least one extra days worth of food.

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## hunter63

Let the squirrels eat the nuts, shoot the and eat the squirrels.

Have tried the grind, soak and grind some more.......and yeah it's OK, and I am aware how and tried it....

Lately have been avoiding nuts because of gout.

When hunting, I watched a squirrel stash hickory nuts in a burrow....after a while I went all over and found  a maybe 100 nuts....so I was gonna steal them.
Squirrel up in the tree chattering at me........"Hey azzhat,.... thems are mine, go find your own"....so I left them.

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## TXyakr

I am definitely not an expert on wild nuts but there is a big variation in oak (Quercus) and Carya (hickory, pecan) and others closely related in Juglandaceae genera such as Walnut (similar leaf, flower, nut appearance). So with a bit of careful experimentation if you are certain of no allergies you can determine that some are not as bitter as others. Also if you are very desperate the green nuts might be gathered and used to stun fish in a small netted off stream for easy hand fishing. Obviously illegal unless you are truly starving to death and have no other options. Not something anyone should ever do just for fun. In Peru some indigenous people my mother worked with used Barbasco for this purpose for hundreds of years.

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## Rick

Here's the low down on acorns. 

http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features/...ns/acorns.html

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## TXyakr

I have been guilty of trying something finding it bitter and writing it all off, Hickory nuts for example, until this Thread I assumed they were all very bitter (Tannic). Then I looked it up, WOW! multiple websites say some are not. I'll need to try them out again. Same with White Oak Acorns. Most difficult part is that so many seem to have weevils in them.

http://www.wikihow.com/Identify-Hickory-Nuts

http://www.food-skills-for-self-suff...kory-nuts.html

Now my Dad always told me grubs taste just like bacon. Tried one, it was extremely bitter. Probably should have removed the black guts in it first. OH Well, so this is how we learn.

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## hunter63

How do you "gut a grub"?

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## Rick

Along with more tannins, red acorns have a lot more fat than white acorns. Squirrels will generally eat white acorns and store red ones. The white ones taste better but the red ones and their higher fat content is needed in winter when food supplies are limited. If they find a wormy red acorn they will eat the top containing the worm then store the rest. Their mommas didn't raise any fools.

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## hayshaker

no mikey don,t like acorns let the turkeys and squirrels have em.

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## Rick

Hey! Who you callin' a turkey? Oh...you meant.....never mind.

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## wildlearner

I have yet to eat any. (Do to the fact that I can never get enough of them when I find them, and also my parents always through them away. =/) But I would keep the tannin water because the tannins can be used to tan hides.

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## Enigma

> So basically to make acorn coffee you take two handfuls for several servings and boil them she'll included. After boiling, peel them from the shell. The boiling reduces bitterness and difficulty peeling. Then, peel the outer skin and split. Let them dry for 2 days then grind them up. After that you roast in oven for 30 minutes on 350. They are ready now! (Place 3 tbsp Ina cup of boiling water like you would with instant coffee.)


Thank-you for that recipe.

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## Enigma

> Let the squirrels eat the nuts, shoot the and eat the squirrels.


What does squirrel taste similar to?

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## DSJohnson

Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat.  The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough!  Great flavor though.  Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion.  We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings.  One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person.  I have also broiled them over a fire.

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## hunter63

> What does squirrel taste similar to?


Chicken........

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## crashdive123

> What does squirrel taste similar to?


Rats..............

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## hunter63

> Rats..............


Ya, well didn't want to say that....Look like them till you cut off the tail.

Best take the meat off the bone and make a stew with it....or bake it with onion soup mix and onion straws and or tater tots.......and rice.

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## randyt

You can speed your prep time by examining the acorn for worms, no sense spending time on a wormy nut. A little black spot on the shell indicate a wormy nut, usually it's where the cap connects to the nut. A unblemished shell indicates a healthy nut with good nutmeat.

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## Enigma

> Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat. The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough! Great flavor though. Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion. We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings. One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person. I have also broiled them over a fire.


Thank-you DSJ, it sounds just like Kangaroo. Dark red and extremely lean.

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## Rick

> a wormy nut




Hey! Who you callin' a .... oh, you meant.....never mind.

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## Grizzlyette Adams

Acorns from White Oak trees are delicious and I cook with them fairly often. Nutmeats can be chopped or shredded (on a cheese grater) before adding to soups, stews and just about anything else to boost nutritional value and flavor.  For a variation in flavor, I sometimes roast the acorns before adding them to a recipe.

Unlike acorns from other Oak species, White Oak acorns (usually) do not need special pretreatment. Interestingly, the acorn flavor will vary from tree to tree, even of the same species! Flavors can also change from year to year _on the same tree,_ sometimes for the better (or not). Once upon a time, my favorite White Oak tree up and went funky on me.  :Bawling:  The flavor wasn't horrible, but I missed the delightfully nutty flavor that was characteristic of that particular tree.

I like to crack acorns open with a conventional nutcracker and stash the raw nutmeats in my freezer. Any time I have tried to store them in the shells at room temperature, I end up with a bunch of grubs on the loose no matter how carefully I scan the shells beforehand.

This fall I will experiment with roasting chopped acorns in my cast-iron skillet (parched corn style) and storing the bits in a glass jar. I suspect I will need to keep an eye on it for mold and rancidity.

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## Mace

i think it was mention its the the tannin is what gives most acorns the bitter taste. you can leach the tannins in flowing water. which takes away most of the bitterness. but if you cook them right. like in a hole with small stones or burying them in sand over which you have had a fire. most of the tannin taste goes away. and they are pretty good

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## Mazer

I live in Northern California - yes I have had acorns, they can be disgusting if not processed correctly. First - never attempt to just eat one - the tannins can cause kidney damage (not fun). There are a number of ways to process them and eat them. Anyone who processed acorns in heat is doing them an injustice. They should be cold water leached and dried in the sun...the process can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to a year depending on what method you choose to process them. I have had water biscuit (not my favorite) and cakes - delicious and nutty, but should be eaten with honey or maple sugar or berries to help with the flavor. Much like Taro root in Hawaii, and oatmeal, one must add to the staple to make it more palatable

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## Wise Old Owl

> Squirrel meat is a dark red, very lean meat.  The older the squirrel the more likely it is to be very chewy IE: tough!  Great flavor though.  Not really any "game/wild" taste to it in my opinion.  We fry it or boil it to add to a pot of dumplings.  One squirrel is a pretty small meal for one person.  I have also broiled them over a fire.


Try to avoid those old gamey with grey hair ones.... (kidding)

For the rest of us.

Here is the facts. NPR is the Government subsidized talk radio for the uniformed "feel good" Progressive. They have rolled out in the last four years about eating insects and other odd stuff, that would blow the mind.  As they continue to roll out program after program that would make an average billy goat puke, they want everyone to eat like Andrew Zimmerman. They are getting ready for the time where there is nothing to eat and we double today's population. Reminds me of a movie... was that Soylent Green?  That being said lets get to the nut meat of this audio. 

They do not mention there are better things to eat.
They do not mention there are white Acorns that farmers used to grow.
They do not mention there are easier sources of protein.
They do not mention that the Gypsy Moth killed thousands of Oak trees here in Pa and decimated the Deer Population. 

Hense if you planted Oaks right now they may be blighted in the future.

Need I go on? 

Several years ago I visited a 150 year old southern farm house near Haver-de-grace MD that had a Male and Female White Oaks in the front and they produced a 1/2 ton of nuts that did not require soaking. I understand that you can buy these trees for planting in fall and raise them below the mason dixon line. I would hope you folks look into this as well as raising other nut and fruit trees. Something I did as a young man.

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## hunter63

> I live in Northern California - yes I have had acorns, they can be disgusting if not processed correctly. First - never attempt to just eat one - the tannins can cause kidney damage (not fun). There are a number of ways to process them and eat them. Anyone who processed acorns in heat is doing them an injustice. They should be cold water leached and dried in the sun...the process can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to a year depending on what method you choose to process them. I have had water biscuit (not my favorite) and cakes - delicious and nutty, but should be eaten with honey or maple sugar or berries to help with the flavor. Much like Taro root in Hawaii, and oatmeal, one must add to the staple to make it more palatable


Sounds like a lot of fooling around for not much return....?
Who would process acorns for a year...?

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## Rick

Crap, I'd forget I left them drying after a month and then wonder where all the acorns came from after six months. 

This is a learning day. I did not know I was an "uninformed feel good progressive". I'm not sure what that is but I listen to NPR quite often. I listen to jazz on NPR a lot. Well, as much as I can listen to music. I also watch PBS. I must be on some kind of subversive list for sure.

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## primitiveskills

Acorns have been a staple food for our family and our community of instructors and apprentices over the last two decades. We use red oak because the shells float and the meat sinks, making mass processing a quick part of the process. Here is our method of collecting, storing, and using this free, nutritious, and stable food source.  Gathering acorns you want to only gather those without the cap. Those with caps have been mechanically removed (rejected) by natures acorn gathering masters, crows, jays, ravens, squirrels, etc. Even with that, squeeze the acorn and inspect the top where the "cap" (technical name is involucre) was to determine if there is any off color or holes indicating a grub. If the shell doesn't give when you squeeze it and the top,looks uniform in coloration, toss it in the collecting basket. We gather about three hundred gallons and they last for about two years. Next, let your acorns dry. We made big drying racks and turned a bubba car port in to a drying house. It takes about thirty to ninety days depending on humidity, but once you can crack an acorn shell with your hands and the nut meat inside is shriveled, those acorns will keep for about three years in their original containers (shells). We store them in metal trash cans with lids so we don't end up eating too much red squirrel and chipmunk defending our acorns. It's happened. Once you are ready, gather acorns, mash them place them in a five gallon bucket. Fill with water. Scoop the shells the float to the top. Stir and repeat until no more shells float to the top. Pour out acorn mash and pick out any stubborn shell fragments clinging to the meat and dry. After drying the acorn meat you have to leach the tannins. While not my favorite as it isn't always effective, one way to leach the tannins from the nuts is to boil coarsely broken nut meat in several changes of water (which will turn brown as the tannins are removed from the nuts). The water is poured off between boilings and fresh water is again brought to a boil. This process is continued until the nut meat lacks the drying sensation (stringency) and the bitter taste. If it doesn't within three changes, the nut meat has fixed the remaining tannins and that batch is best used for squirrel bait. During the third and final change of water, the boiled liquid should be barely tinted with tannin. My favorite method is leaching in cold water in a container. This doesnt alter the consistency of the nuts as much as boiling does and the flour made from the ground nuts remains together better during cooking. Cold water leaching requires the nuts be ground into a fine flour to increase the surface area. This facilitates the leaching process, but left stored, increases oxidation and loss of nutrients. The acorn flour is placed in a container filled with water, which is poured off at least three to five times a day after the ground nut meal has settled. This process is continued for five to seven days.  This makes a meal that can be used for making hot cereal, breads, crackers, or anything you would use a flour for. My friend Arthur Haines makes an amazing acorn humus.  There is a great video of a Pima Elder showing how this process was done primitively. Much Respect.

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## Wise Old Owl

Thanks................................

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## celtos13

Glad you mentioned the white acorns, wise old owl... I was just reading a book about the ancient Celtic peoples, and it talks about them storing acorns the same as any grain, there was a royal record taking stock of all the kings provisions and bushels of acorns were listed.

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## Godfavor111

Acorns because of their bitterness have to be leeched there is a cold process and a hot process from watching survival processing. they have to be dried first. The cold process takes about 3 days and required shelling, grinding and soaking and pouring off the colored water on top this is called leeching and has to be repeated at least 2 times a day for 3 days. the boiling process requires repeated pouring to get out the tanins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QitkIGNwUgs

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## hunter63

Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.....From Wisconsin
There is an intro section to say hello at :
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions




> Acorns because of their bitterness have to be leeched there is a cold process and a hot process from watching survival processing. they have to be dried first. The cold process takes about 3 days and required shelling, grinding and soaking and pouring off the colored water on top this is called leeching and has to be repeated at least 2 times a day for 3 days. the boiling process requires repeated pouring to get out the tanins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QitkIGNwUgs


The whole thread has covered these methods several times.
In your personnel experience....have you tried any of there methods?...or just a You Tube you found out there.

Tried a couple of methods......
After picking,....then inspecting for hole and floating,(for empty bad nuts)...shelling, mashing hammer, into a meal....
Can use two flat rocks....but stone partials get mixed in with the mash.....then soak out the tannin's and pour off several times....or place in bag in running water over night...if possible.

Grind again into meal/ flour....
Then Mix it with something else as it doesn't stick together well......mash into cake and fry in bacon grease...or what greese you have...

Taste like crap...to me......

Or, ....dry, grind.... soak and pour off once.....roast in frying pan,.... the grind up and use as coffee substitute.....(kinda bitter, even though I like strong coffee.)  

Would only do these if I had to.....or to see have the work....
Shooting the squirrels make more sense.....

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## hayshaker

acorns are for squirrels thier lives matter.

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## Rick

Kroger has nuts for about 4.99 a pound. Shelled. And who's the guy that invented the shelling machine? I'd have lost three fingers, one tooth and still not have it figured out.

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## hayshaker

i saw a shelling machine once in hawaii, it was used to shell macadamia nuts
it was a auger that must have been around 25;feet long horizonal mounted,

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## hunter63

This machine is home made....for removing hull for black walnuts......
This almost identical to one I watched work....built and used by a friend in Missouri.




Check out the kitten.... 

There is quite a few black watnut trees at "The Place".....was think about building one of these...when I get a "roundtuit"

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## kyratshooter

If you get one built I have a customer for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MgHBvp1uwk

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## Rick

After watching that 4.99 a pound looks even better. I would have hooked the dang motor up backwards, dropped the walnuts in there and knocked myself silly.....well, sillier.

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## hunter63

Besides your fingers get stained till next year....
I'll buy nuts as well....just don't eat too many...bad for gout.

Point is...lots of ways....., so depends what you have, what you want to do with it, how much effort to what end.....
Like everything else....

We stood there and watched the guy using a machine like that...then he gave us each a bag of black walnuts, all peeled and shelled.

Rick...put a twist in the belt...will reverse it....

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## kyratshooter

Those are not the good English walnuts like you buy at the store either.  The American black walnut is not really fit to eat and way more work than it is worth.

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## Rick

> Rick...put a twist in the belt...will reverse it....


Oh, yeah, sure. There goes another finger.

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## crashdive123

Fingers or walnuts.......a man needs to get his priorities straight.

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## hunter63

> Oh, yeah, sure. There goes another finger.



Turn it off first.....

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## crashdive123

See.....that right there is why H63 has all of his fingers and Rick.......well, with mittens fools a lot of people.

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## Rick

You write instructions for the Japanese don't you? I often find important facts like that at the end of the manual.

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## hunter63

> You write instructions for the Japanese don't you? I often find important facts like that at the end of the manual.


Bhohahahaha...Ain't that the truth....

Instructions in the manual for changing oil in the Yamaha 4 wheeler...
Loosen 6 bolts on cover
Remove cover....
Slide filter out...

Then,
Oh, Yeah.... Jack it up and remove right rear wheel/tire...First.

should have added...
Clean up oil on floor......because the wheel gets in the way, can't get the fliter out, so is leaking when you are fighting it.

Note to all....
Always read the instructions ALL THE WAY THRU before starting job...

That is "IF" you need instructions.....Real men don't bother, but spend time cleaning up the oil.

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## crashdive123

Not quite bad as the bomb defusing tech manual.

Cut the blue wire.

but first.................

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## OMark

I've never tried them but always curious what they would taste like. Anyone have a good source with the nutritional breakdown of acorns?

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## kyratshooter

Got it right here for you.  Odd thing is that I did not even have to type, I just highlighted the nutritional breakdown of acorns and google was right there with the info.

Apparently there is a rule that before you do a google search you have to come to WSF and get someone to cut and paste the question to google.

https://www.google.com/?pli=1#q=nutr...ts+of+acorns&*

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## hunter63

Huuummm Wonder if Google works for "best survival knife"

Yup...It does....Seems no one else can agree either....
Lots of paid ads....

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/ga...ness-survival/

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## Rick

We have a deal with Google but it's all pretty hush hush. You can google that if you want.

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## hunter63

Googled it.....
https://www.google.com/search?q=hush...hush+meaning&*

hush-hush
ˈˌhəSH ˈˌhəSH/
adjective informal
(especially of an official plan or project) highly secret or confidential.
"a hush-hush research unit"

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## Rick

We cannot confirm or deny that. It is hush hush after all.

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## JohnLeePettimore

That machine looks OSHA compliant to me.  ;o)

Here's an even safer one: https: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TnPAGyx12Y

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## Rick

Right there is a really good example of why I don't own a welder. I would get into so much trouble.

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## hikermor

Acorns were a dietary staple for Native Americans in California for thousands of years. Acorns were gathered inf the fall of the year and stored for long periods.  Processing was very similar to the methods already described in this thread - separate the hulls from the meat,  grind up the meat, leach it a time or two (different varieties of oak have different degrees of bitterness), dry, and consume and store for long periods.  Even today, you find an oak grove in a valley with a flowing stream, and chances are you will also find bedrock mortars (cylindrical holes ground into rocky outcrops) .  I have never eaten acorn meal, but evidently it was substantial and filling, but rather bland, much like oatmeal.

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