Once thawed, the pre-cooked, pre-frozen acorn meal is excellent to make sandwiches with, use in dips or whatever your imagination can dream up. Sometimes it’s hard to find new cooking ideas, but acorn dishes never fail to delight guests. A bowl of acorn dip brings smiles, and a lot of interesting conversation.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
In a way, acorns remind me of tofu. They’re a vegetable protein and they need to be ground and prepared using lots of water. The mass of ground acorns looks similar to raw blended soybeans. I found preparing acorns much easier than making tofu. I also put a little note on the refrigerator that reminds me what day I leached the acorns.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
Sho’-kish (Yuki Indian name for this acorn)
Ha’-ha (Concow Indian name for this acorn)
This tree is thought to form a “connecting link” between oaks and chestnuts. Botanists are not considering it a “true” oak. According to several sources, the acorn of the Tanbark Oak was highly prized by California Native Americans. This attractive and slender evergreen grows abundantly along the west coast, from about a 300-foot elevation to 4,000 feet. Growing up to 100 feet tall, it can grow up to six feet in diameter. You may find it growing alongside redwoods and Douglas fir. The oblong leaves of Tan Oak are light green with “rusty hairs” on the underside, medium in size, sharply toothed, not divided or lobed, not bristle-pointed. The leaves are regularly toothed. The oblong acorns are set in shallow cups.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
Let’s face it… most acorns are hard to crack. Here are my two favorite methods:
Get a large tin cookie sheet and a river rock that weighs a couple of pounds. Watch your fingers and crack away.
The second way is my favorite. Get a Texan Nut Sheller. It will get your acorns cracked. Be CAREFUL. This nutcracker is razor sharp. Literally. So, keep it away from children.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
Some folks turn their nose up to acorns as food, but acorns are to be respected. They sustained Native populations for thousands of years. They are not poisonous but you must leach them first. Added to recipes, they are delicious. Many a dish is made better by the addition of acorns. Gather ‘em, crack ‘em, leach ‘em, cook ‘em and eat ‘em.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
I’m often asked what acorns taste like. They have their own distinct flavor, so it’s hard to tell, but the closest I can come is that they taste a little bit like olives. Of course, they must be leached first, but then they can be cooked in a myriad of ways.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
WHITE OAK or FORK-LEAF WHITE OAK or RIDGE WHITE OAK or STAVE OAK:
Some of these oaks live to be 800 years old. They grow in the eastern half of the United States, (including parts of Canada, parts of the Midwest and parts of the South). It attains its greatest size in the valleys of the western slopes of the Allegheny Mountains and the bottomlands of the lower Ohio Basin. The acorns are “sweet-meated” and mature during early autumn, carrying no acorns through the winter. The shiny, brown acorn is three-fourths to one inch long, with about one-fourth its length in a shallow cup attached directly to the twig or by a very short stem.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
It’s that time of year and for some people it’s a whopper. Acorns falling everywhere. The rodents are scurrying to get their share. Birds are diving and insects are attracted to the food fair (fight sometimes). You can get into the action. Get yourself a basket and collect acorns. Try your hand at some of the gourmet meals that can be prepared once you’ve leached your stash. Get one with the earth and find out what’s cooking.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
This Fall, try something different. Gather acorns. After they’re shelled, ground and leached, add them to a cheesecake recipe and watch it come alive. Knowing that you can eat acorns, makes it fun to watch the “nuts” develop on the trees. It’s a good skill to have, whether you’re a prepper or a gourmet cook. Eat acorns and while you’re at it… plant some oak trees.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
Before long, Autumn will be upon us. The leaves will turn golden and plump brown acorns will litter the ground. One of my favorite recipes is Acorn Onion Dip. The acorns provide color, texture, and a tangy flavor, once they’ve been shelled and leached.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns:
suellenocean 