Eating Acorns

EATING ACORNS

Compiled by Native Tree Burning Grill

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Table of Contents

Acorn............................................................................... 7

About Acorns............................................................... 8

Acorn 2 ........................................................................ 9

Acorn Flake ............................................................... 10

Acorn Flour................................................................ 11

Acorn Flour................................................................ 12

Acorn Flour 2............................................................. 13

Acorn Gathering & Preparation.................................. 14

Acorn Information...................................................... 16

Acorn Meal ................................................................ 17

Acorn Meal Or Flour.................................................. 18

Acorn Milk ................................................................ 19

Acorn Notes ............................................................... 20

Acorn Pinon Soup With Wild Flowers ....................... 21

Acorn Substtutes ........................................................ 22

Acorn Tips ................................................................. 23

Acorns ....................................................................... 25

Acorns ....................................................................... 27

Acorns A.................................................................... 28

Acorns B.................................................................... 29

Acorns, Acorns, Acorns ............................................. 30

California Acorns....................................................... 33

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Recipes .................................... 34

Collecting And Storing Acorns And Meal .................. 36

Harvest And Eat The Acorns ...................................... 40

Harvesting The Wild: Acorns ..................................... 41

How To Use Acorn Meal ........................................... 49

How To Use Acorns For Food And Bread.................. 50

Preparation Of Ground Acorn Meal............................ 53

Processing Acorns...................................................... 54

Turning Acorns Into Meal .......................................... 55

Appetizers...................................................................... 57

Acorn Crunchies ........................................................ 58

Acorn Shred ............................................................... 59

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Acorn Slivers ............................................................. 60

Breads............................................................................ 61

Acorn Baking............................................................. 62

Acorn Bread............................................................... 63

Acorn Bread............................................................... 64

Acorn Bread............................................................... 65

Acorn Bread............................................................... 67

Acorn Bread............................................................... 68

Acorn Bread............................................................... 69

Acorn Bread............................................................... 70

Acorn Bread............................................................... 71

Acorn Bread............................................................... 72

Acorn Bread............................................................... 73

Acorn Bread (Modern) ............................................... 74

Acorn Bread 3............................................................ 75

Acorn Bread 33.......................................................... 76

Acorn Bread 5............................................................ 78

Acorn Bread Apache .................................................. 79

Acorn Bread With Cattail Flour.................................. 80

Acorn Pan-Bread........................................................ 81

Acorn Pumpkin Bread................................................ 82

Acorn Soda Biscuits ................................................... 83

Acorn Spice Bread ..................................................... 84

Acorn Tortillas ........................................................... 85

Acorn Yeast Bread ..................................................... 86

Acorn-Corn Bread...................................................... 87

Bread Acorn.............................................................. 88

Burning Tree Acorn Bread ......................................... 89

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Bread Recipes .......................... 90

Christopher's Acorn Bread ......................................... 91

Contemporary Acorn Bread........................................ 92

Honey Acorn Bread ................................................... 93

Mixed Grain Acorn Bread .......................................... 94

Multi-Grain Bread With Acorn Meal:......................... 96

Tom & Judy Brown's Famous Acorn Yeast Bread...... 98

Breakfast........................................................................ 99

Acorn & Egg Breakfast .............................................100

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Acorn Cinnamon Pancakes........................................101

Acorn Griddle Cakes.................................................102

Acorn Griddle Cakes 2 ..............................................103

Acorn Pancakes.........................................................104

Acorn Pancakes.........................................................105

Acorn Pancakes.........................................................106

Acorn Pancakes I ......................................................107

Acorn Pancakes II .....................................................108

Acorn Tofu Breakfast................................................109

Acorn and Cornmeal Pancakes ..................................110

Grandma's Acorn Griddle Bread With Syrup.............111

Cake/cookie ..................................................................112

Acorn Chocolate Chip Raisin Walnut Cookies ..........113

Acorn Cookies ..........................................................114

Cakes ............................................................................115

Acorn Cheesecake.....................................................116

Acorn Hominy Cake .................................................117

Acorn Meal Cakes.....................................................118

Acorn Pound Cake ....................................................119

Apache Acorn Cakes:................................................120

Quick Acorn Cheesecake ..........................................121

Desserts ........................................................................122

Acorn Brownies ........................................................123

Acorn Shortbread ......................................................124

Peanut And Acorn Yogurt Dessert ............................125

Persimmon Acorn Cinnamon Rolls ...........................126

Pumpkin Acorn Pudding ...........................................128

Dressing........................................................................130

White Sage Acorn Dressing ......................................131

Game ............................................................................132

Acorn Pemmican:......................................................133

Acorn/Pemmican Preparation....................................134

Modern Pemmican: ...................................................141

Main Dish .....................................................................142

Acorn Casserole ........................................................143

Acorn Cheese Pies ....................................................144

Acorn Enchiladas ......................................................145

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Acorn Lasagna ..........................................................146

Acorn Veggie Loaf....................................................147

Acorns & Rice ..........................................................148

Acorns With Black Bean Broth & Pasta ....................149

Chicken With Jalapeño Acorn Sauce.........................150

Elk Stew With Acorn Dumplings ..............................151

Split Pea Acorn Dinner .............................................152

Muffins .........................................................................153

Acorn Muffins ..........................................................154

Acorn Muffins ..........................................................155

Acorn Muffins 1........................................................157

Russ Cohen's Acorn Muffins .....................................158

Savory Acorn Muffins...............................................160

Pies ...............................................................................161

Acorn Pie ..................................................................162

Relishes/preserves.........................................................163

Acorn Pickles............................................................164

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Pickles ....................................165

Salads ...........................................................................166

Acorns & Pasta .........................................................167

Kidney Bean Acorn Salad .........................................168

Korean Acorn Noodle Salad......................................169

Sandwiches ...................................................................170

Acorn Burgers...........................................................171

Acorn Salad Sandwich ..............................................172

Acorn Spinach Burgers .............................................173

Beets & Acorns .........................................................174

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Burgers ...................................175

Sauce ............................................................................176

Acorn Spaghetti Sauce ..............................................177

Sauces/dips ...................................................................178

Acorn Dip .................................................................179

Acorn Dip 2 ..............................................................180

Baked & Browned Eggplant Acorn Dip & Spread.....181

Refried Acorns ..........................................................182

Soups/stews ..................................................................183

Acorn Mush ..............................................................184

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Acorn Mush In A Shawee .........................................185

Acorn Soup or Mush .................................................186

Acorn Stew ...............................................................187

Acorn Stew ...............................................................188

Acorn Stew ...............................................................189

Acorn Stew ...............................................................190

Acorn Stew ...............................................................191

Acorn Stew Apache ..................................................193

Acorn Stew Seminole................................................194

Acorn Veggie Soup...................................................195

Acorn, Carrot & Dock Soup......................................196

Apache Acorn Ravioli In Clear Broth........................197

Apache Acorn Soup ..................................................199



Apache Acorn-Pinon Soup With Wild Flowers .........202

Burning Tree Golden Acorn Soup .............................203

Cornmeal And Acorn Mush ......................................204

Nativeway Apache Acorn Stew.................................205

Nupa Acorn Soup Part 1............................................206

Nupa Acorn Soup Part 2............................................210

Ohlone Acorn Mush..................................................213

Ohlones Acorn Mush ................................................214

Seminole Acorn Stew................................................216

Venison-Acorn Stew .................................................217

Wiwish Cahuillaacorn Mush .....................................218

Vegetables ....................................................................219

Sauted Mushrooms & Acorns....................................220

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Acorn

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About Acorns

1 acorns

There are more than 60 species of oak trees throughout

North America, and all produce edible acorns. Oaks are

broadly divided into two groups: red (or black) oaks, which

produce nuts with a bitter taste (a result of high tannin

content), and white oaks, which contain less tannin and are

considerably sweeter. The annual nut crop from oak trees

in North America surpasses the combined yearly yield of

all other nut trees, both wild and cultivated. Acorns

provide a complete vegetable protein, up to 7 percent by

weight in some species of oak. More than half their bulk

consists of energy-rich carbohydrates. From:

"Manyfeathers1" <manyfeathers1@yadate: Fri, 31 Oct

2003 15:07:16 ~0000

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Acorn 2

I have made flour from acorns for years but never boiled

them. I always use the acorns from the white oak and soak

them for three days. I change the water every day. Then I

lay them on a screen to dry for sometimes two weeks or

roast them in the oven (which has a distinct nutty odor). It

always depends on how much time I have. I would think

that boiling them would remove some of the flavor.

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Acorn Flake

These are sliced thin (when wet) with a slicing blade.

Somewhat resembles small potato chips when dry. Used

for casseroles, 'meat loaf,' and any type of heavier baked

product. Can be toasted, used as chips, etc.

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Acorn Flour

1 text file

Lee Peterson, Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Although

a few white oaks have acorns sweet enough to be eaten raw

or roasted, most oaks have extremely bitter acorns.

Happily, the bitterness is due to an abundance of tannin

which is readily soluble in water. Whole kernels, stripped

of their shells and boiled in repeated changes of water until

the water no longer turns brown, can be roasted and eaten

as nuts or dipped in sugar syrup and eaten as candy. Dried

and crushed acorns can be placed in porous bags and put

through same boiling process to remove the tannin. They

can then be redried, ground into meal, and used to make

excellent breads and muffins. Rich in protein and fat.

From: Neysa Dormish Date: 16 Jan 97 National Cooking

Echo Ä

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Acorn Flour

The acorns are fisrt collected. We then take a hand crank

coffee grinder and loosen it so that it does not produce a

fine grind. We keep the grinder loose enough

to just crack the acorn shells open. The Apache women

then simply pick through the acorns while telling stories

amongst each other and the younger girls. This is usually

or traditionally considered womens work with in the

community/tribe.

This process is time consuming and usually you can hear

the women talking and laughing in the camp as they pick

through the acorn.

After the acorns have been carefully picked, picked and

repicked to remove any small shells, the small yellow

acorns are then put back into the hand grinder and gound

into flour. I love the smell of fresh ground acorn. It is best

to store it in airtight containers like a cleaned glass jar.

Because of the labor involved it is expensive when sold in

the community. It is a prized food product that people will

pay the high price for.

I like the flavor for its initial sweet flavor followed by the

sharp bitterness at end. It is great in Apache Acorn Stew.

-Nephi Craig

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Acorn Flour 2

Here is the process that I used. - shelled them by putting

then in a pillow case and pounded then with a stick against

a board and sorted the meat out. - ground them. It was the

first that I used the grinder so they didn't grind evenly -

they went in to a 1/2 gallon jar full of water and I did water

changes once or twice a day for 2 weeks. When I did the

water changes I poured the liquid from the jar into another

to make sure that I didn't lose any nut meat or flour. Any

that did get in the second jar would settle out over night

and get mixed back in. - put the 'slush' in a dehydrator to

remove the liquid - today I am going to grind the meat

finely - tomorrow we have pancakes with 50% wheat flour

and 50% acorn flour!!!!

things I will do differently next time. - shell them against a

cement/concrete stone - chop instead of grind them before

I soak them. I think they leech better with the smaller

pieces but it was annoying having to be so careful that I

didn't lose flour while pouring off the water. - gather more

acorns!!!

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Acorn Gathering & Preparation

There are various types of oak trees in the United States

and Canada and the taste is varied as well. Some are more

bitter, so it's a good idea to learn which trees produce the

sweet acorns. This will save time boiling and reboiling to

get rid of the tannin in them. White Oaks have the sweetest

acorns and need little boiling to remove the bitter taste.

Their leaves do not have the little sharp hairs on the ends

of each leaf lobe like say, a Red Oak. Note that if your oak

trees do not have many acorns, that all nut trees have

bountiful years and lean years.

Preparing acorns for use in recipes

Boil acorns in a pot of water and snap off out coats. Boil

again several times, until water stays clear. Then roast in a

200 degree oven until nutlike and brittle. You can eat them

as a snack or put them through a coffee grinder and make

acorn flour.

from: ACORN PANCAKES, DANDELION SALAD

AND 38 OTHER WILD RECIPES by Jean Craighead

George and illustrated by Paul Mirocha

See also:

Nuts & Grains for recipes using Acorns

Northeren Nut Growers Association Northern Nut Growers

Association Indigenous Plants to learn more about the

plant itself.

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From: 'Star' Subject: Acorns

I am surprised to hear how many other tribes use acorns. I

was born and raised on the San Carlos Apache reservation

and haven't really had a chance to learn about other tribes.

In the fall my people gather acorn. The acorn we gather is

very small. They are about the size of a pinon nut. The way

we prepare it is to dry it in the sun for several days then we

grind it into course pieces. Then we put it in a large bowl

and shake it into the wind. The wind blows away the shell

and leaves the nut in the bowl. I know there is a name for

this but it escapes me at the moment. The remaining nut is

then ground into a fine powder.

We use this powder to make acorn stew with corn and

squash, acorn hash and acorn soup with dumplings.

Acorn flour and starch can be purchased from any Korean

market.

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Acorn Information

To me the most interesting part of using acorns as food is

that acorns were a crucial part of California's Native

American diet and Koreans and Native Americans share

the same preparations to make acorns edible. I know this

only anecdotally so I may be wrong about the details but

it's interesting to note that our ancestors were equally

resourceful on this one way of surviving.

To make the acorns edible, you'd have to peel and soak or

soak and peel. I think soaking gets rid of some chemical

that's poisonous. Tannin? Then you dry them and grind

them to powder.

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Acorn Meal

1 acorns

1 water

Make meal by grinding dry, raw acorn kernels (after

shelling). Mix with boiling water and press out liquid

through a cheesecloth. With very bitter acorns, repeat this

process several times. Spread meal on a tray and

thoroughly dry in oven at 250F.

This meal will cake during the drying process. Regrind

using a food chopper. Then, seal in containers, preferably

glass jars.

Note: All acorns contain tannic acid or tannin. This is what

causes the bitter taste, the same as the soft brown lining in

pecans that we have all tasted if we have cracked open

pecans and eaten them raw. The white oak family has less

tannin than the black oak family. THe white oak family

acorns I have tried are White Oak, Burr Oak, and Club

Oak. There are many varieties. White oaks have rounded

leaves. Black oaks have pointed leaves. Squirrels go for

white oak acorns first. They're not dumb. They don't like

the tannin either. Black oak acorns will make you pucker

up just like eating unripe persimmons.

John Hartman Indianapolis, IN

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Acorn Meal Or Flour

text

Gather acorns after they are ripe. Soak the acorns

overnight, and the shells will split open. The shells can

then be removed from the kernels.Spread the kernels

(acorn nuts) out to dry. When the kernels are completely

dry, they can be crushed with a stone mortar into meal or

flour.After the acorn meal or flour is ground it should be

leached to take out the bitterness. A frame can be made

with cedar twigs overlapped tightly as shingles on a roof.

Spread the acorn meal on this frame, then pour water

through it repeatedly until the meal turns pink. The meal

can then be dried and stored until used. You may also buy

acorn flour and acorn starch in a Korean store

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Acorn Milk

acorns

English colonist who describes how the Powhaten people

of Va would pound acorns in a mortar with a little water to

create a milk like liquid which was used in cooking

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Acorn Notes

info acorn

As to acorns, they all can be eaten, but some require a lot

of boiling and soaking to remove the tannins. You have to

shell them and taste them as you go along. The ones that

take the most treatment are rather bland tasting by the time

they are edible. You can restore some flavor by toasting

them in a low oven. Hope this helps, and I am curious what

the list turns up for those two tribes. When I did my ethnic

cookbook, I couldn't find enough recipes for either tribe to

make the book (which has 22 other native groups), and

couldn't assign the water crackers, since the Wind River

reservation is both northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, with

separate governments.

-Mark H. Zanger author, The American History Cookbook,

The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students

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Acorn Pinon Soup With Wild Flowers

1 T. unsalted butter

1 c. pinyon nuts

4 T. shelled acorns or unsalted pistachi; o nuts

6 T. chopped wild onions or leeks

9 c. rabbit stock or chicken stock

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 qt. half and half

snipped wild onions, mint sprigs an; d wild edible

flowers for

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and

saute the pinons, acorns and onions 4 minutes until the

onions are translucent and the nuts golden brown.

Add the stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce

the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is reduced

by half, about 20 minutes. Add the half and half and reduce

the mixture again by half to 6 cups.

Remove from the heat and blend in a blender or food

processor until the mixture is smooth. Push through a fine

sieve; discard the contents of the sieve. Garnish with the

mint, wild onions, and edible flowers and serve.

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Acorn Substtutes

Acorns

Several other ethnic food enthusiasts like to substitute

acorn meal for corn meal when making muffins -- usually

using 1/2 corn meal and 1/2 acorn. Some have substituted

1/2 of the flour in a biscuit recipe with 1/2 acorn meal.

Experiment carefully, remembering that a good portion of

the work performed by flour has to do with the gluten in

the floor. Sorry, acorn has no gluten, so you'll have to keep

this in mind.

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Acorn Tips

acorns

The pale faces seem to want to boil leach them, but the

indians of my area and Koreans use cold water methods for

a good reason. I find that cold water processing is better

that boil leaching because on some acorns the meal

thickens up 1 time when cooked. If you boil leach this

happens during leaching not the cooking when you want it

to happen. That is why the acorn brownie recipe on my

web page has no eggs. If your acorns do not thicken up

when cooked add eggs to the recipe to get good brownies

that hold together.

Now for some tips on gathering acorns (California black

oak (Quercus kelloggii)) that might work with your

species.

1 The first drop of acorns has most of the bugs and worms.

Perhaps the tree rejects these acorns so they fall off early?

2 Most good fresh off the tree acorns sink if put in a bucket

of water. Most buggy acorns float in a bucket of water.

Well dried good acorns float too.

3 Most acorn bugs develop inside the acorn and burrow

out. They do not get buggy normally from sitting around in

a dry place. This does not mean that outside bugs do not

like them though.

4 High tannin content seams to preserve the acorn from

going rancid. I find that they keep for several years if kept

dry. However they will go rancid. I have gotten them from

building walls and most were still good after who knows

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how long. But some were rancid so each acorn must be

smelled for rancidity. Because of the preserving effect of

the tannin most acorns were processed as needed or within

a week or so of when they were needed. This was a daily

process of many indian tribes.

At rabbitstick this year we had a success at leaching acorns

the cold water method based on the method described on

my web page. A time or two we tried to process too much

meal for the amount of water we used and the leaching was

not finished. I have processed acorn meal in 1 day by this

method by changing the water often. From: John Goude

<[email protected]

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Acorns

Acorns

Here's how i processed them (i started with about a half a

plastic grocery sack). I'm not sure if this is 'the best' way to

do it or not. I eventually found that if i heated up a small

handful in a frypan they would shell much easier. It

steamed them a bit inside and using a pair of nutcrackers

the meat would come out pretty eaisily (squeeze it once on

the cap end to break the shell then once on the oposite end

to pop it out). It was important not to heat up more than i

could shell before they got cold again.

After they were all shelled i went with the boil and drain

method. I think it was 4 times total that i boiled them

before the the water was clear. After the last boil, they

went into the food dehydrator over night. I had to watch

them carefully so they would dry evenly.

Once they were dry I went to grind them. I don't have a

food processor and was not committed enough to do it by

hand... first i tried the coffee grinder and that kept getting

clogged. Then i used a blender and that worked ok but a

had to run the meal through a strainer the keep grinding. It

took a long time! I'll be investing in a food processor for

the next batch. lol

Once i got it all ground i spread it out on cookie sheets and

finished drying it on very low heat in the oven. Total yeild

was just over a quart.

I was quite pleased with the end result and it has made an

awsome addition to apple crisp!

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I've never worked with acorn before so i'm not sure how it

compares. I like it and so far nobody has gotten sick :-)

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Acorns

Acorns











Preparing acorns





acorn flour.

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Acorns A

text

Made flour from acorns for years but never boiled them. I

always use the acorns from the white oak and soak them

for three days. I change the water every day. Then I lay

them on a screen to dry for sometimes two weeks or roast

them in the oven (which has a distinct nutty odor). It

always depends on how much time I have. I would think

that boiling them would remove some of the flavor.

29

Acorns B

text











Preparing acorns





acorn flour.

30

Acorns, Acorns, Acorns

info

A food staple, delectable treats, and cute lil buggers, acorns

have been processed on a wide scale in the Wintu area

since sometime around 700 or 900 AD or so when

climactic changes forced the shift of food sources from

grasses to acorns, which of course along with this we see

the introduction and increased use of specialized

implements for processing this 'new' food source. Or so an

ethnologist would say mano's to mortars.

Oak Trees (Quercus) are found throughout north America

but some species are unique to northern California climates

such as the California Valley Oak , or California White

Oak. Which produces very good acorns for all around

Wintu food acorn preparation. ie. breads, and soup, or Yuit

in wintu. Also unique to the California area are the Coast

Live Oak and the Tan Oak, which actually falls in to genus

Lithocarpus Densiflorus who's fruit more closely resemble

that of chinquapin nut or chestnuts. Of which the tan oak

are far preferred but rare in the wintu territory. Live oak

acorns make fair yuit but are poor for traditional bread

techniques. Various other oak species flourish across the

rest of the country, but unfortunately am not

knowledgeable about the techniques required to remove

the otherwise bitter tannic acids from these eastern species

(Northern red, scarlet, blackjack, pin oak).

In the olden days there used to be hereditarily inherited

rights to favorable acorn harvesting locations all around

31

our territory, sometimes adjacent to the village or miles

away in a valley or on a slope neighboring another band or

entire tribes territory. There along a prominent ridge or a

conspicuous tree, sticks may be laid to mark areas reserved

for the sole use of the owner of the marker. In times of

famine the neighbors might come to perform the Sune'

dance asking for contributions of acorns and other food

stores which would be reciprocated or debt paid in

aboriginal form. One such place used to be down the road

from my house outside Redding, the people from cotton

wood creek owned those acorns and that was about 12

miles away from the Rancheria at Reading's Spanish

rancho. The highly specialized art of basketweaving and

the collection and processing of these vegetable foods were

a chief duty of the Wintu female.

To prepare acorns collect first a gunny sack or so of whole

unshelled acorns, from the branch, when ripe in late

September or October. They used to be collected in the day

by lots of wintu women. At the end of a long day of

gathering acorns, grass, seeds, berries, hazel and pine nuts,

they would come back into the village and empty all their

burden baskets into granaries, large woven cradles

sometimes 12-14 feet high and 4-5 feet across. I've seen

others made from green (living) Buckbrush and bent to

form a cradle as it grows about 6 feet across and 4 feet

high. Like the buckeyes I usually collect about a 5 gallon

bucket full. To prepare, hull the acorns, using the

traditional method of cracking between the teeth. Sift on an

open work basket to remove skin. Pound out to fine and /

or coarse meal. And leech out. Again the key to this

method is to find a suitable spot along a fresh water creek

with an appropriate type of sand. The sand is pushed up to

form a dish and the meal placed in the 'dish' and water

poured over repeatedly, repeatedly leech with water for

one day. You can try using a cloth to separate the sand and

meal.

32

Remove meal, coarse and fine meal will be completed

separately, fine meal can be made into yuit (soup) by

adding to a large acorn basket and introducing small pre-

heated stones and stirring to avoid scarring the basket.

Don't forget your plied willow stone fork for handling the

red hot cooking stones. Usually stirred with a nice oak

paddle. Once the acorns are warm they can be set to cool.

Once cool it is ready to serve in individual serving baskets.

The coarser meal can be made into coarse yuit or into

bread, add pinch of red clay soil (iron oxide) and mix with

water to doughy consistency. Preheat stone oven made

over a ground fire, or cook evenly over coals. Flipped,

comes out a scorched consistency on surface. Cool, slice,

(some ppl salt), serve along with deer or salmon, but

always remember don't put the puufiich in the aama basket,

because you won't get anymore.

33

California Acorns

info

We usually gather the acorns up in the San Jacinto and

Santa Rosa Mountains in fall. Store them in a dry place for

a few months or till the next year and then crack, shell,

remove skin and grind into flour. We prefer Black Oaks

and have to leach the ground flour out with warm water.

Then you can make it into a porridge, weewish (thick

enough to cut into squares and stands like Jell-O),

dumplings or use in bread or muffin recipes. For the

mesquite I have a friend who gathers it down in the

Coachella Valley area and she grinds the dry yellow bean

pods in a blender. I have bought the ground flour from

Native seed search in Tucson, AZ. When I couldn't get it

here. To make our traditional bread you just add water to

the flour, kneed it into dough, pat it out into small cakes,

sun dry and there you go. It is honey mesquite and it is like

a dried candy treat.

34

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Recipes

1 soup or mush

Southern California Indians commonly used the leached

and ground acorns as a base for soup or mush. To use as a

soup base, mix approximately two cups of the meal with 8

cups of water. Add diced onions, potatoes, carrots, wild

greens, and seasonings to suit your taste. To use as a

breakfast mush, add milk and/or water to the acorn meal to

your desired thickness. Serve with whatever you'd add to

oatmeal: such things as raisins, sliced fruit,honey, butter,

and cream.

MEAL CAKES

Acorns are ground, sieved, and pressed (all while still

"wet"). You must dry it well, and it will last one year.

Reconstitute when ready to use. Use as needed. Pie crusts

can be 1/3 meal cake. Can toast, and use as regular meal

for nuttier flavor.

SLIVER

These are leached, and then ground with a special blade (a

la salad shooter) which results in thin slivers. Use in pie,

on toast, and as you'd use toasted coconut on top of foods.

Gives a nutty flavor. Use where you don't want or need

body. Can use with cheese balls. Ideally, toast before

using.

FLAKE

These are sliced thin (when wet) with a slicing blade.

Somewhat resembles small potato chips when dry. Used

35

for casseroles, "meat loaf," and any type of heavier baked

product. Can be toasted, used as chips, etc.

SHRED

Made with a larger blade, results in thin shreds. Can season

with chili powder, soy sauce, etc. Used as fried things. Add

oil to skillet, add onions, meat, vegetables, etc. Like pilaf.

Can use in cheese balls. From: "Linda Roberts"

<lrobe684@bellsou

36

Collecting And Storing Acorns And Meal

acorns

acorn meal

acorn flour

Acorns will generally be at least somewhat green when

picked from trees, but they normally turn brown in storage.

Not every acorn is sound. Several different insects,

including filbert weevils and the filbert worm lay their

eggs on the cap end of developing acorns. When the eggs

hatch, the larvae begin to feed on the inside of the

developing acorn. Larvae reach maturity at about the same

time as the acorns do. When mature, weevils and worms

bore their way out of the acorn. Exit holes made by the

larvae are about the size of a pencil lead. Most acorns that

have these small open exit holes have a lot of internal

damage and should be discarded. Not all eggs develop into

larvae, so acorns with closed pimple-like marks, may be

perfectly sound. Acorns that are shriveled, lightweight, or

cracked have often dried out excessively, and these should

be discarded.

Insect and weevil damage can be minimized in the second

year of harvesting by raking up and removing all old

windfalls.

Collection of Acorns

Acorns are ready when the caps are removed easily

without damage to the acorns. Usually when acorns start

dropping to the ground, most of the acorns remaining on

the tree are ripe. Acorns may be picked directly from the

37

tree when they are ripe. The freshest nuts are collected this

way.

Nuts may also be gathered from the ground if they haven't

been there too long. Choose the acorns that are green or

dark brown. Light brown color usually indicates that the

acorns have been on the ground longer and are more likely

to have become dehydrated.

Select the largest acorns, and avoid those with obvious

cracks, holes, or damage from rodents or worms, and those

that feel unusually light or hollow.

A blue-gray mold also damages fallen seed. Acorns

covered for about 2 months by wet leaves show mold at the

blunt ends that gets well within the nuts. Gather only

freshly fallen acorns to avoid the mold.

Storage of Raw Acorns

The primary goal of storage is to reduce the metabolic

activity (i.e. keep the seed dormant). The acorn is

perishable, and the other goals of storage are to prevent the

acorns from drying out or becoming moldy Do not wash or

soak acorns before storage, as the water and room

temperature will start the germination process. Freshly

harvested acorns should be stored at 33-41øF as soon as

possible. A home refrigerator is adequate.

The easiest way to store acorns is in 1-gallon zip-lock-type

plastic bags. Fill them only half full with acorns. Add a

handful of dry peat moss. Peat moss is slightly acidic,

which inhibits bacterial growth, and it absorbs excess

moisture given off by the acorns, which helps prevent mold

growth. Do not seal the bags. Leave them completely open,

and lay them on their sides to allow air circulation so the

acorns do not become moldy.

38

Some external mold growth on stored acorns can occur, but

is generally not a cause for concern. However, if acorns are

oddly discolored and feel soft when squeezed, they may be

decayed. You can check a few acorns by cutting them

open. The inside (the "meat") of a healthy acorn is whitish

or yellowish. Decayed acorns will be dark brown or

sometimes nearly black internally.

Acorn Meal and Flour

Leaching can be effectively accomplished by cold water.

Crack and shell the acorns, then grind them into a coarse

meal. Place the meal in a cloth sack or tightly woven,

lidded basket and anchor the sack or basket in a clean

flowing stream. Every several hours, taste the meal and

when the bitterness and astringency are gone the leaching

is complete. The meal is then spread out into flat, broad

baskets and stirred frequently until sun-dried. To assure

dryness for storage of the flour, it is best to then parch the

meal on a flat rock over fire, or in a cast iron skillet. When

doing this, a light roasting of the meal imparts a fine, nutty

flavor to the finished flour. The leached, dried, parched

meal can be used at this point, or ground once more into a

fine flour.

Dry storage for the flour is essential. Acorn flour can easily

become moldy with the right combination of moist

conditions and a few warm winter days. When going into

the storage container, smell the flour before using. If a

musty smell has developed, discard the flour. Acorns can

serve as a host for the aflatoxin mold, as can peanuts, rye

and other grains; most frequently, aflatoxin poisoning

comes from the mold aspergillus flavus. Acorn flour often

lasts into February or March before "going off," when

stored at room temperature on the kitchen shelf in a

ceramic container. Freezing prolongs the shelf life; but the

39

flour loses the richness of its flavor 8-10 months after

freezing.

40

Harvest And Eat The Acorns

question: do you know of any recipe; s using

acorns?

The reason I ask this: When I was a child, my grandfather

had me pick up a small bucketful of acorns from under our

pin oak tree. A day or two later, he asked me to come over

to his house and he fed me acorns. The only problem I

have is he never told anyone how in the world he prepared

them.

Here is some information about eating acorns or rather

acorn meal. The tannins have to be removed to avoid the

bitterness. I don't know what your grandfather might have

done to remove the tannins in whole acorns unless the type

of acorn had less tannins to begin with and could have

been removed by soaking the whole acorn.

41

Harvesting The Wild: Acorns

Information

When I was just a little girl, I used to collect acorns by the

boxfull as they fell in the fall. I didn’t know why. They just

felt nice in the hand and somehow a big bunch of them felt

satisfying. Could that be because somewhere in my

ancestors’ time, acorns were a very important food? Native

Americans all across oak-growing North and South

America harvested acorns, which were nearly as important

a food as corn or beans. Such tribes as the Cherokee,

Apache, Pima, and Ojibwa routinely harvested and used

the acorn. These Indian gatherers taught early settlers how

to harvest and use acorns in their cooking, as they did corn

and other traditional foods. Even today, many Indians

gather acorns, both to use themselves and to sell in

Mexican markets.

And those bright, shining round acorns are very good for

you, besides tasting great. Health benefits of acorns

Acorns have been tested and found to be possibly the best

food for effectively controlling blood sugar levels. They

have a low sugar content, but leave a sweetish aftertaste,

making them very good in stews, as well as in breads of all

types.

Ground, leached acorn meal, ready to dry. The bitterness is

gone.

42

They are rich in complex carbohydrates, minerals, and

vitamins while they are lower in fat than most other nuts.

They are also a good source of fiber.

An additional benefit from eating acorns is in the

gathering. Acorns, although they “fall from trees, must be

picked and processed before eating, which requires a walk,

then bending and picking up. All of these are good

exercise. In fact, that is why many primitive foods are so

healthy. They require exercise just to put them on the table,

not just a short trip to the convenience store or fast food

joint. But acorns taste bitter!

One of the first things I learned as a little girl harvesting

acorns was that they tasted awful. Unfortunately, many

acorns do taste bitter. This is because they contain tannin, a

bitter substance in oaks which is used to tan leather. Real

pucker power here. Some varieties of acorns contain more

tannin than others. They range from the Emory oak of the

southwestern United States and northern Mexico, which is

so mild it can be used without processing, to some black

oaks with very bitter acorns, requiring lengthy processing

to render edible.

Generally, the best acorns to harvest are those of the white

oaks, such as the swamp oak, Oregon white oak, and burr

oak, as they contain less bitter tannin. Luckily, nearly all

acorns can be made usable with natural processing which

renders them nutty and sweet. From the mighty oak

Acorns are one grain that literally grows on trees. Even a

small oak tree can produce a bushel or more of tasty,

nutritious acorns. And that grandaddy oak out in the

43

pasture could produce nearly a thousand pounds. Now that

is a lot of eating from a small area.

There are now several varieties of grafted oak trees, which

bear nearly double the harvest of wild trees. These trees are

available for purchase from specialty nursery companies.

Nice fat, ripe acorns, ready to be used for acorn meal or

flour

Not only are acorns great food for us, but for many birds

and animals as well. Any deer hunter can tell you that one

of the best spots to ambush a wily buck is on a trail to a big

oak tree. Deer and wild turkeys harvest these nutritious

acorns to fatten up for winter.

Early settlers must have noticed this, as they soon began to

turn their hogs out into the oak woods to fatten on the

bounty of acorns. I accidently had this happen to two of my

own pigs. I had a litter of weaner pigs, six in number in an

outside pen. While we were in town, a stray dog came by

and had great fun, chasing the little porkers around the pen.

None were injured, but two of them vaulted the pen wall

next to the shed and took off for the woods as fast as their

little legs would run.

We hunted, called, and scoured the woods for days.

Weeks. No piggies. By then, we figured a black bear,

which were numerous in our woods, had a midnight snack

of pork on the hoof.

44

Then one November, I was riding my horse down one of

the wooded trails through huge old oaks, when I noticed

turned-up fresh soil. Bear? Nope, my “bear” had left pig

tracks. I tied my horse and scouted further, discovering

seemingly acres of ground dug up underneath those

bounteous oak trees. My lost piggies were found. But those

tracks looked pretty big.

To make a long story short, we corralled those errant

porkers and hauled them home. On putting them in the pen

next to their brothers and sisters, we were shocked. Out in

the woods, they really looked big, but now they looked

huge. They were a third again as big. On butchering, the

woods raised hogs weighed 290 pounds, while the grain

fed hogs barely made 200 dressed. So much for “modern

feeding.” Of course the pigs had access to roots, grasses,

insects, and more. But I credit much of their hearty size to

those fat acorns they were gorging themselves upon.

As acorns hold a long time under the tree, the hogs were

feasting on last year’s crop all summer, then the fresh crop

come fall. Not a bad natural feed. Harvesting

First of all, you’ll have to check out your local oaks during

the spring when the leaves and underbrush are not as

dense. Get a little pocket tree book and try to identify the

oaks you find. In many areas, there are several varieties of

oaks available to the acorn harvester. Some are quite mild

and sweet and others pretty darned bitter. If you have a

choice, try to find a variety with mild meat and only a little

initial tang of tannin.

My son, Bill Spaulding’s hunting “shack” sits right in the

middle of white oaks, which produce “grain from trees,” as

45

some Indian tribes refer to acorns, and also lure big deer,

which come to feed on sweet, fat acorns.

You may have to simply nibble and check, come fall.

Different varieties of oak have different shaped acorns.

Crack a nice fat acorn with no worm hole. Examine the

meat. It should be yellowish, not black and dusty (insects).

Now, simply nibble and chew up a part of the nut. If it is

very bitter, spit it out and try another kind of acorn. When

you find a grove of relatively mild acorns, note this for

next year and harvest away.

As the understory is usually very thin below a decent sized

oak tree, the acorns are quite easy to pick up. Depending

on the variety of oak, your acorns will drop between late

September and October, more or less, depending on your

climate zone. The best way I’ve found to pick up acorns is

to simply pick a nice dry, sunny day as soon as the acorns

begin to drop and take baskets and sacks to the woods and

sit down and pick them up. If you wait too long, the handy

dandy squirrels and other wild critters will beat you to

them, leaving only the worm-riddled hulls behind.

Processing

The term “processing” brings to mind machines and

chemical additives. With acorns, processing simply means

making them ready to eat.

When I get home with my bounteous haul, I spread them

out a layer thick on an old sheet which I have laid on a

roof, corner of the yard, or some other out-of-the-way dry,

sunny place. This lets them sun dry and prevents any

possible molding before I get them shelled. It will also kill

46

any insect eggs or larvae, which might be inside. If you

cannot lay the acorns out in the sun, spread them in a

single layer on cookie sheets in a very slow oven for an

hour.

Some acorns, such as those of the Emory oak, require no

more processing than cracking them open and eating them.

Like most nuts, acorns of all types benefit from toasting on

a cookie sheet in an oven at 175° F. Stir to prevent

scorching.

However, most acorns do contain enough tannin to make

leaching this bitter substance out necessary. To do this,

simply sit down and crack a big bowlful of acorns,

carefully examining each nut for black holes, which

indicates a worm is inside rather than a wholesome plump

yellowish-beige nut. Acorns are very easy to crack. The

shell is pliable and quite thin. Pop the cap off, then simply

grasp it with a pair of pliers and give a squeeze. Don’t

mash the kernel. Simply crack the shell. Then peel it off

and toss the kernel into a bowl.

When all are done, get out your food grinder. Put a fine

knife on the grinder and run the shelled acorns through it.

This makes a coarse meal. Place this in a large crock or

glass bowl. Then add boiling water to cover and let stand

an hour. Drain and throw away the brownish, unappetizing

water. Repeat. Then taste the meal. It should have a bit of a

bitter tang, then taste sweet as you chew a piece. Continue

leaching out the tannin as long as necessary.

When the acorn meal is mild tasting, it is ready to dry. I

usually lay out a piece of old white sheet in a basket and

47

pour the wet meal on it. Then, gathering up the edges, jelly

bag style, I press and squeeze, getting out as much of the

water (and tannin) as possible.

Author grinding shelled acorns in a hand grinder

One caution?don’t let wet acorn meal lie about for hours,

or it will surely mold. Keep at the leaching process.

Spread the damp meal out in a shallow layer on a cookie

sheet or on sheets of your dehydrator. Then begin to dry it.

In the oven, you only need the pilot light or the very lowest

oven setting. As it begins to dry, take your hands and very

carefully crumble any chunks which hold moisture. Slowly

your meal will begin to look quite good.

When the meal is completely dry, run it through a fine

setting on your grain mill. The traditional method was to

use a stone (mano in the southwest) hand grinder to crush

the meal on a large, flat stone (metate). It is now ready for

use in your recipes. If you produced more meal than you

need right now, you can store the meal in the freezer or

refrigerator in an airtight bag or jar. The dry, ground meal

will last a week or so, stored in an airtight jar on the shelf.

But, because of the oil, the meal will begin to go rancid, as

will whole wheat flour and homeground cornmeal.

You can also grind your meal in a food processor or

blender a little at a time. I smile, thinking of the vast

difference between grinding acorns between stones and

using a food mill. What would our ancestors think? Using

acorn meal

48

Some Native Peoples called acorns “grain from the tree,”

indicating the use they had for it as a grain in cakes,

breads, and thickening for stews and soups. Today folks

use “cream of this and that” soups for the same thing.

I think processed acorns taste like a cross between

hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, and I often include acorn

meal in my multi-grain bread recipes. Adding half a cup of

acorn meal to a two-loaf bread recipe and reducing the

flour, as needed, works quite well. Because the acorn meal

is a natural sweetener, I only use a bit of honey to feed the

yeast while softening it, relying on the acorn meal to give

sweetness to the bread. No complaints yet.

As acorn meal is very dense, you will have to take care to

get your bread to rise when adding it. One way to ensure

this is to use hot liquid and beat in your flour, making a

batter. Then cool so you can add the yeast and the rest of

the ingredients. This helps release wheat gluten to let the

bread rise, despite heavy ingredients. Indian bread was

always very dense and heavy, as there was seldom, if ever,

wheat or yeast added to the recipe. It takes wheat gluten, as

well as yeast, to make bread rise properly. Indian breads

were often small, thin cakes baked before the fire on large,

reflecting rocks. They were not puffy, large loaves as we

are accustomed to today.

49

How To Use Acorn Meal

recipe

the possibilities are almost endles; s! add acorn

masa to mush

acorn masa for cornmeal. or use the; pulp to replace

part of

be sure to cut down a bit on the li; quid and shorten

the reci

mildly flavor and makes breads and; cakes richer,

moister, br

of the acorn-masa delicacies descri; bed and see for

yourself

50

How To Use Acorns For Food And Bread

Information

There are many species of oak trees. Oak trees are found

throughout. They prefer open woods and bottom land.

Normally, they are divided into two major groups: Red

Oak - The red oaks have deeply scalloped leaves with very

pointed tips. The acorns from the red oak are very bitter.

The acorns require two growing seasons to mature, have a

hairy lining on the inside of the shell, and the nutmeats are

yellow in color. Red oaks are also members of the black

oak family. (Photo: Oak Trees - Quercus spp. Provide

Acorns Rich in Protein and Oils) White Oak - The white

oak also has leaves with deep scallops, but the tips are

rounded. The acorns of the white oak are less bitter than

those of the red oak, and they require only one growing

season. The inner portion of the white oak acorn shell is

smooth, and the nutmeat is white in color. The chestnut

oak is considered part of the white oak classification.

NUTS: The nuts are gathered during the fall from

September to October. When processed properly, acorns

have a pleasant nutty flavor. Acorns are an excellent source

of energy, protein, carbohydrate, and calcium. When

collecting acorns, one should not be surprised that many of

them must be discarded due to insects or mold, so more

should be collected than are needed. If you spread a sheet

51

of plastic under the tree and use only those acorns that fall

within a one-day period, this seems to reduce bug

infestation, an especially important problem for acorns that

are to be stored in their shell. The ripe tan-to-brown acorns,

rather than the unripe green ones, should be gathered. The

bitterness in acorns is caused by tannic acid which is water

soluble. To remove this unpleasant taste, shell the brown,

ripe acorns and remove any corky skin layers, dice the

meat; and boil the chunks in water from 15 to 30 minutes

until the water turns brown. Then pour off the water and

repeat the process until the water clears, indicating that the

tannic acid has been removed. Periodically taste a bit of the

acorns until you no longer detect any bitterness. (Native

Americans would let the crushed acorn meat soak in a fast-

moving, clean stream for several weeks to remove the

bitterness.) During the last boiling, salt water can be added;

then the acorns can be deep fried or mixed in a soup. Also,

finely chopped acorn meats can be added to bread and

muffins, or the soft acorn nut can be added as a protein

booster to cooked greens. After the leaching process, acorn

meat can be frozen. To make flour, the boiled acorn meat

can be split in two and dried by slowly baking in a 200

degree oven with the door cracked to allow moisture to

escape. Or, they can be dried in the sun. They are then

crushed or ground and used as a thickener or as flour.

Another method is to roast the fresh acorns to work well in

a grinder or blender. After grinding, the course flour is

placed into a cloth bag and boiled to leach out the tannic

acid. Acorn flour can be used alone to make an acorn

bread, but it is not very pleasing to most tastes. Acorn flour

is more palatable when mixed with wheat flour or corn

meal-one part acorn meal mixed with four parts corn meal

for corn bread, or one to four parts wheat for bread. The

acorn meal can also be heated in water to make a nutritious

mush. Or add enough water to make a thick batter. Add a

dash of salt and sweetener to improve the taste. Allow the

batter to stand for an hour (or until thick) then pat into

52

pancakes and cook or twist and bake on an open fire. The

leached acorns, after they are roasted until brittle, can be

ground and used as a marginal coffee substitute. In their

shell, the dried acorns will store for a time. Some Native

Americans stored acorns for several years in bags buried in

boggy areas. CAUTION: In the identification and use of

wild edibles as a food and herbal healing source, care and

attention to details should be exercised, as some plants are

toxic. Always use several field guides to insure proper

identification. Better yet, you should be trained by and

expert. The above informatio

53

Preparation Of Ground Acorn Meal

Information

1. Pick up several cupfuls of acorns. All kinds of oaks have

edible acorns. Some have more tannin than others, but

leaching will remove the tannin from all of them. 2. Shell

the acorns with a nutcracker, a hammer, or a rock. 3. Grind

them. If you are in the woods, smash them, a few at a time

on a hard boulder with a smaller stone, Indian style. Do

this until all the acorns are ground into a crumbly paste. If

you are at home, it's faster and easier to use your mom's

blender. Put the shelled acorns in the blender, fill it up with

water, and grind at high speed for a minute or two. You

will get a thick, cream-colored goo. It looks yummy, but

tastes terrible. 4. Leach (wash) them. Line a big sieve with

a dish towel and pour in the ground acorns. Hold the sieve

under a faucet and slowly pour water through, stirring with

one hand, for about five minutes. A lot of creamy stuff will

come out. This is the tannin. When the water runs clear,

stop and taste a little. When the meal is not bitter, you have

washed it enough.

Or, in camp, tie the meal up in a towel and swish it in

several bucketfuls of clean drinking water, until it passes

the taste test. 5. Squeeze out as much water as you can,

with your hands. 6. Use the ground acorn mash right away,

because it turns dark when it is left around. Or store in

plastic for freezing if you want to make the pancakes later.

54

Processing Acorns

Acorns

After removing caps and shells, acorns can be eaten raw or

roasted. To roast, nuts should be baked at 250B0 to

300B0F for 1 hour. For more bitter acorns, boil kernels

whole for 15 minutes and pour off water. The discarded

water will be brown with tannin. Add fresh water, boil

another 15 minutes, and continue this process until the

water is only slightly tinted. Once tannin is removed, roast

nuts as described above. From: "Manyfeathers1"

<manyfeathers1@yadate: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 15:07:16 -0000

55

Turning Acorns Into Meal

Information

The process of turning acorns into meal starts by going out

into the oak groves in the fall and harvesting the acorns.

Turning the acorns into meal is not easy. It often takes the

entire village to find and gather them. Adding to the

problem is the fact that oak trees produce good harvest

every four or five years.

Once the Chumash find a sufficient amount of acorns, they

crack them one at a time to check for worms using a

hammer stone. This same tool is used to grind the acorns

once they have been removed from their shell. Then, when

it is fine enough, they sift it through a basket and remove

any unrefined pieces. They then lay leaves down on hot

sand and spread the acorn meal all over the leaves.

Water was boiled using hot rocks and poured on top of the

acorn meal. They do this to get rid of the tannic acid which

can cause stomach problems. A bitter taste to the acorn

meal indicates that there is still some tannic acid left, and

that it must be removed. The rinse water is a milky white

color until all the tannic acid has rinsed off. The water will

run clear when it is thoroughly cleaned. This is known as

the leaching process.

The Chumash allow the meal to dry in the sun for a while

and the process ends by placing the acorn meal into tightly

woven baskets and storing it in huts for the winter. A

healthy gruel, or oatmeal type food, was made from the

ground acorn meal. It could also be made into flat cakes

and cooked on a steatite comal over a fire.

56

The whole village would be involved in gathering the

acorns during the fall season. Granaries were used to store

unshelled acorns until it was time to grind them. Coastal

Live Oaks could drop as many as several hundred pounds

of acorn nuts.

The age of manos and pestles that are found today help

date the site of grinding activity. Manos were used as long

ago as 3000 years. The pestle shape evolved about 1500

years ago. Often, large groups of manos or pestles are

found near grinding sites. It is thought that this was

because they were too heavy to carry back to the village.

Grinding sites were usually conveniently located near

running water to assist in the leaching process. Each

woman maintained her own work site even though there

was no ownership of the land.

This healthy flour formed the base of nutrition in the Santa

Susanna area. The Chumash and Gabrielino did not farm,

but gathered and hunted fresh food to accompany their

acorn based diet.

57

Appetizers

58

Acorn Crunchies

After your acorns are leached, you can bread them using

cornmeal, and whole wheat flour. Bake lightly, (until

crunchy). You can get creative with this by adding spices,

butter, seasoning salt, etc. Make sure you keep stirring this,

and don’t bake too long. Oven temperature 325°.

59

Acorn Shred

acorns

Made with a larger blade, results in thin shreds. Can season

with chili powder, soy sauce, etc. Used as fried things. Add

oil to skillet, add onions, meat, vegetables, etc. Like pilaf.

Can use in cheese balls.

60

Acorn Slivers

Acorn are leached, and then ground with a special blade (a

la salad shooter) which results in thin slivers. Use in pie,

on toast, and as you'd use toasted coconut on top of foods.

Gives a nutty flavor. Use where you don't want or need

body. Can use with cheese balls. Ideally, toast before

using.

61

Breads

62

Acorn Baking

Several other ethnic food enthusiasts like to substitute

acorn meal for corn meal when making muffins -- usually

using 1/2 corn meal and 1/2 acorn. Some have substituted

1/2 of the flour in a biscuit recipe with 1/2 acorn meal.

Experiment carefully, remembering that a good portion of

the work performed by flour has to do with the gluten in

the floor. Sorry, acorn has no gluten, so you'll have to keep

this in mind. Here is a modern Acorn Bread recipe from

the book Cooking with Spirit, North American Indian Food

and Fact by Darcy Williamson and Lisa Railsback,

Copyright 1987 by Darcy Williamson. Published by

Maverick Publications, Drawer 5007, Bend, Oregon

97701. Used for a children's class in California Indian

Culture which I do periodically.

63

Acorn Bread

2 cups of milk

2 tablespoons oil or butter

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons dry yeast

4 2/3 cups acorn flour (see below)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup luke-warm water

To make Acorn flour:

Use white, burr, or chestnut acorns collected in the fall

when ripe. Remove shells Boil acorns for two - two and a

half hours, changing the water each time it turns brown.

Remove from water and layer on a sheet pan and roast for

one hour then chop finely and grind in a flour grinder or

processor. Dry again in oven for one half hour then put

through the grinder again at least twice more until very

smooth.

Scald the milk then stir in oil or butter, honey, and salt.

Pour into a large bowl and let cool to luke-warm. Dissolve

yeast in warm water then add to mixture and gradually stir

in the acorn flour. Cover bowl and let rise for two hours in

a warm place, then knead for ten minutes and roll out like a

thick pastery. Roll the dough like a jelly roll and shape into

two loves. Place in buttered bread pans, cover and let rise

for two hours. Bake for forty minutes at 375 degrees then

remove and brush with melted butter. Serve warm.

64

Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

or

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup carob flour

or

2 cup acorn flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp Salt

3 tbl honey

1 pc egg

1 cup milk

3 tbl oil

Mix well and bake in a greased loaf pan for 30 to 45

minutes at 300 degrees F.

65

Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn meal

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg, beaten or egg substitute

1 cup milk (i use soy or rice milk-

works; fine)

3 tablespoons oil

Very tasty, with a distinctive texture. Great for

Thanksgiving! American colonists in the Northeast used all

available food sources- acorn bread is an adaptation of a

Native American recipe which was somewhat common in

the late 17th century until the mid 19th among the poorer

working classes. 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Grease a

loaf pan. 3. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. 4. In a

separate bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. 5. Combine dry

and liquid ingredients. 6. Stir just enough to moisten dry

ingredients. 7. Batter will be a bit lumpy. 8. Pour into a

greased pan, bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 9. Acorns

are very easy to use, similar to chestnuts. 10. First examine

the acorns as you pick/gather them. 11. Throw away any

that are wormy/moldy/cracked/etc. 12. Next, shell them.

13. Early in the season (August-September) the shell is

usually soft enough to cut through. 14. Later in the season

acorns may require a nut cracker, though many times the

shells are rather thin and brittle. 15. Taste the raw acorns-

if they are bitter, they need to be boiled. 16. Tannic acid

causes the bitterness, and is easily leached out by boiling

the acorns in successive pots of water. 17. When the water

no longer turns brown (looks a lot like tea), the acorns are

ready. 18. The next step is to roast the acorns slightly. 19.

Use a warm oven, no more than 250 degrees. 20. Acorns

that have not been boiled will take 60 minutes or so, boiled

66

acorns will take longer. 21. Once they're roasted, the

acorns can be used in place of nuts in most recipes,

although they are less oily than most nuts. 22. They can be

glazed like chestnuts, simmered in a soup, ground and used

as a flour extender.

67

Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup flour

2 tbl baking potato

1/2 tsp Salt

3 tbl sugar

1 pc egg

1 cup milk

3 tbl oil

Sift together, acorn meal, white flour, baking powder, salt

and sugar. In separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, and

oil. Combine dry ingredients and liquid ingredients. Stir

just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Pour into a greased

pan and bake at 400F. for 30 minutes.

Native Indian Wild Game, Fish and Wild Foods Cookbook

Fox Chapel Publishing Co. 1992 From: Bobby Queen

Date: 08 Sep 99

68

Acorn Bread

3 tbs. cornmeal

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 tso salt

2 tsps. butter

1/2 pkg active dry yeast (1 1/8 tsp.)

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup potato starch

1 c all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup acorn starch

1 tsp. sugar

3 tbs. water (about) to hold dough togethe

Mix cornmeal with cold water; add boiling water and cook

2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and butter and cool

to lukewarm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Add

remaining ingredients to corn mixture, along with yeast.

Knead to a stiff dough. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let

rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down

dough and form into loaf; place in bread pan (9 5/8 x 5 ½ x

2 ¾), cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375

degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Adapted from http://www.siouxme.com/acorn.html

69

Acorn Bread

1 cup cup acorn flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (or 3/4 cup wheat; and 1/4

cup carob flour

or just use a total of 2 cups acorn; flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons honey

1 egg

1 cup raw milk

3 tablespoons oil



70

Acorn Bread

1 c acorn meal

1 c flour

2 T baking powder

1/2 ts salt

3 T sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 c milk

3 T oil

Sift together acorn meal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar

and then mix egg, milk and oil and add to dry ingreadients

and pan up.

71

Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn meal

1 cup flour

2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

3 tablespoon oil





pan and bake at 400F. for 30 minutes.

72

Acorn Bread

2 cups flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ginger

1 cup honey

2 cups milk

2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped acorns

margarine

2 tsp baking soda

Grease two loaf pans with margarine. Mix together all dry

ingredients, thoroughly. Beat eggs, gradually adding milk.

Add egg mixture alternately with honey to dry ingredients.

Beat well. Stir in acorns and pour evenly into loaf pans.

Bake in cardboard oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until

golden. If bread is done, it will come out of pan easily

when pan is turned over and tapped gently. If not, bake for

another 10-15 minutes. Remove bread from pan

immediately when done and cool. This spicy bread always

tastes better the second day when its .flavors have had a

chance to mellow and blend.

73

Acorn Bread

The Indians mixed the acorn meal or flour with meat soup

or water to make a stiff dough. Salt was added to the

dough. The acorn dough was made into round loaves ,

wrapped in fern leaves, and placed in ashes for slow heat

cooking that turned the bread black. Another method was

to place the thick dough on a two forked stick and cook

quickly over hot coals. If baking powder was available, the

acorn meal was mixed with baking powder, salt, and water.

This dough was either baked or fried in a pan. While not

'traditional' recipes these are still very good. Sent to us be

SkyWarrior's Blood-Sister Lori.

74

Acorn Bread (Modern)

6 T. cornmeal

1/2 c. cold water

1 c. boiling water

1 tsp. salt

1 T. butter

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/4 c. lukewarm water

1 c. mashed potatoes

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. finely ground leached acorn meal

Mix cornmeal with cold water, add boiling water and cook

2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sale and butter and cool

to lukewarm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Add

remaining ingredients to corn mixture, along with yeast.

Knead to a stiff dough. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let

rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down,

shape into two loaves, cover and let rise until doubled in

bulk. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.

75

Acorn Bread 3

1-2/3 cup warm water

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp. salt

2 pkgs. dry baking yeast

2 tbs. whole wheat flour

1 cup acorns

Stir to melt honey, then cover and set in a warm place

about 10 minutes until foamy. After yeast gets foamy and

starts to grow add 4 cups whole wheat flour 1/3 cup

vegetable oil 1 cup leached & drained uncooked acorns*.

Mix well with a wooden spoon. Fill two standard bread

pans and bake at 350° for 30 minutes

76

Acorn Bread 33

1 cup (packed) acorn mush

1 cup plain white flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/6 cup maple syrup (real stuff, not the fl; avoured

crap)

1/2 an egg (whisked gently, so you *can* h; alve it)

1/4 cup milk

1.5 tsp vegetable oil

The acorns can allegedly now be used as tasty snacks. I

didn't see that happening, so I drained them as best I could

and popped them in the food processor till I had a smooth

acorn mush.

From here, you can dry the paste out (so I'm told) and store

the acorn flour, or use it immediately.

I did the latter, and modified a recipe I found here to make

sweet acorn bread in muffin sizes. Here's my shot at it:

Combine the acorn mush, flour and baking powder in a

mixing bowl. Stir to combine - crumb if necessary to get a

homogenous mixture.

Create a well in the mixture, and add the maple syrup, egg,

milk and vegetable oil. Combine gently.

Spoon into lightly greased muffin trays and cook for 15

minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Test by inserting a wooden

skewer - if it comes out clean: they're done.

Throughout the whole lengthy process I couldn't believe

that the end result would be worth all the hassle. In fact, it

is. The bread is slightly sweet with bitter hints, and the odd

sweet aftertaste is natural to the acorns. It's dark and

textured, but very light, and has serious snob value for

77

dinner parties. Despite its subtle sweetness, I hope to serve

it with a meat dish someday, or perhaps a warming autumn

soup.

78

Acorn Bread 5

4 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups leached & drained acorns*

1-2/3 cups milk to make a soft dough

Notice there’s no sweetener in this. It doesn’t need it. This

recipe makes a beautifully colored brown bread. It is so

good, I just eat it plain. It is a good bread with cheese, jelly

or jam. It is soft and moist. Be creative with this bread.

Slice it. Top it with salsa and cheese and melt it. This is a

good meal served with fresh vegetables and a salad.

Acorns mixed with flour make a wonderful bread. It is

even better the next day. Refrigerate it then slice it real thin

and toast in the oven. My adult son said it was “awesome”

that way. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Add acorns,

milk, oil and mix well. Dough should be stiff but not dry.

Bake at 325 ° for 25 or more minutes, (until done)

79

Acorn Bread Apache

1 cup acorn meal (from 2-4 cups acorns)

1/2 cup cornmeal


3 tablespoons salad oil

1 teaspoon salt


1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1 cup milk

Equipment: 8 by 8-inch brownie pan, food processor or

blender, wire cake tester or toothpick.

1. Shell acorns with a nut-cracker and nut pick, discarding

any with worms. 2. Chop nuts to a coarse meal in food

processor. 3. Soak nuts in boiling water 30 minutes. Drain

water, which will be reddish-brown. 4. Taste a little bit of

the meal. If it is still bitter and astringent, repeat Step

Three. 5. When nuts lose their bitter taste, spread meal out

on a baking sheet and put it into a 300 degree oven, so that

the meal dries out and toasts slightly, being careful not to

let the meal burn. (you can skip this step, but it adds

flavor.) 6. Measure one cup meal and combine with

cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder. 7. Combine

honey, beaten egg, and milk. 8. Add milk mixture to dry

ingredients and mix just until all dry ingredients are

moistened. 9. Grease the 8 x 8 pan, and pour in the batter.

Level off with a spatula if necessary. 10. Pour into greased

8 X 8 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30

minutes. 11. Test for doneness with a wire cake tester or

toothpick.

Serve cut into squares.

80

Acorn Bread With Cattail Flour

2 cups acorn flour

2 cups cattail or white flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup maple syrup or sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

bake in pan for 30 minutes or until; done at 400

degrees

Using the ingredients given above will produce a sweet,

moist, nutty bread. The ingredients can be varied to

produce different types of bread or muffins or pancakes,

etc. Acorn bread is highly nutritious. It has an energy

giving combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. John

Muir called dry acorn cakes 'the most compact and strength

giving food' he had ever used. I use maple syrup from the

trees in my woods instead of sugar. Not only do I enjoy the

wild beauty and fiery colors of the maples and oaks that

surround my farm, but I also savor the sweet acorn bread

made from their nuts and sap. What better way is there to

get to know the trees than to live under them and eat from

their bounty? * 50% or less Acorn flour (if you use more

than 50%, bread will be too crumbly) * 50% or more wheat

(preferably whole wheat) flour * a bit of fat (olive oil, bear

grease, butter, or whatever you have) * 1 teaspoon of

baking powder for each cup of flour

81

Acorn Pan-Bread

1/2 cup acorn flour

1/2 cup corn meal

1 pcs eggs

1 pinch chili powder

1 tbl green onion; chopped

2 tsp Baking Powder

Acorn flour and cornmeal mixed 50:50, egg, and flavoured

with a little chilli and spring onion. Cooked in small cast

iron skillet. Raising agent baking powder. Details on

preparing acorns in RWFG.

82

Acorn Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup salad oil

4 pcs eggs; beaten

2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin or

16oz. can

2-1/2 cups flour

1 cup acorn flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground allspice

2/3 cup water

1 to 1 1/2 cup pecans; chopped

Combine sugar, oil, and eggs; beat until light and fluffy.

Stir in Pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients, and stir into

pumpkin mixture. Add Water and nuts; mixing well. Spoon

batter into 2 well-greased 9x4 Loaf pans. Bake at 350 for

65-75 minutes.

83

Acorn Soda Biscuits

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbs. vegetable oil (you can make without; oil,

butaren’t as flaky

3/4 cup milk (soy milk is okay)

1/4 cup leached & drained acorns*

Sift flour, baking soda & salt thoroughly. Mix in oil. Add

acorns and milk. Dough will be stiff, if wet add a little

more flour. Knead a little, then roll into balls then shape

biscuits and bake on un-greased baking sheet at least 10

minutes, until done, 350-400°, or cook on a hot cast iron

tortilla pan or skillet and turn, browning both sides. Make

the biscuits the size of English muffins. When cool split

and toast. These biscuits are so good! You can make mini-

pizzas out of these too, or use the dough for a big pizza.

Try rolling them into little balls and baking them in a

muffin tin. These are pretty sliced in half and topped with

tomatoes or onions or a spread (even cheese) and are easy

to make for a party.

84

Acorn Spice Bread

1 cups flour

1/2 cup acorn flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sweet potato flour

2 tbl Baking Powder

2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon ground

1 tsp nutmeg ground

1 tsp allspice ground

1 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

2 pcs eggs

3 tsp sunflour seeds; roasted or raw

Mix first nine (9) ingredients in large bowl and blend well

by stirring or sifing them together. In a seperate bowl mix

milk, oil and eggs until smooth. Add the liquid to the dry

ingredients and stir 50 to 70 strokes.

Devide into three well oiled (spay) 3X5 loaf pans. Sprinkle

with sunflour seeds and bake for about 35 minutes in a 375

F preheated oven or until inserted tooth pick comes out

clean. If you wish to make one large loaf with a 8X4 or

9X5 pan increase your baking time to 45-55 minutes.

Cool for about 20 minutes and remove from pans.

Dried cranberries or nuts may be added to batter. Serve

with butter or cream cheese.

85

Acorn Tortillas

1/4 cup leached & cooked & cooled acorns

1/4 cup bran


1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

enough cool water to make a soft dough Heat an un-oiled

cast iron skillet. Roll out dough to tortilla thickness” on a

lightly floured board. Heat first on one side, then flip and

cook until done.

86

Acorn Yeast Bread

1 tablespoon of dried yeast

1/4 cup of cooking oil

1/4 cup of honey

2 eggs

2 cups of acorn masa

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of brewer's yeast (optional)

6 cups of flour (white or whole wheat)

Pour the water into a large bowl and add the tablespoon of

dried yeast. Let stand until the yeast is soft, then stir. Next,

add all the remaining ingredients except the flour to the

bowl and beat well. Then stir in about four cups of the

flour and [1] pile one cup of flour onto a bread board, [2]

make a well (a depression) in the center of the mound, and

[3] turn the batter out into the well. Working from the

outside in, gradually knead the mass, adding enough extra

flour (about a cup total) as you go along to make a stiff

dough. Knead for ten more minutes or until the dough is

smooth and doesn't stick to your hands. (Add more flour, if

necessary.) Now flour the bowl lightly, place the dough in

it, cover with a cloth, and allow the bowl to stand in a

warm place until its contents have doubled in size (about

one hour). Turn the dough out, shape it into two loaves,

and place the loaves into oiled bread pans . . . then lightly

oil the tops of the loaves and set them in a warm place to

rise. When they're almost double in size, bake the loaves at

350°F for 40 minutes (or until well browned). Finally, turn

the bread out onto a rack and let it cool before slicing.

Acorn bread keeps very well, by the way . . . if you have

any left over after your first 'tasting session'!

87

Acorn-Corn Bread

1/2 cup acorn meal

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoon flour


1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/2 cup milk

Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat

egg, and add the liquid ingredients. Combine with a few

swift strokes. Pour batter into a small square greased pan

and bake at 425 for 20 min or until firm to the touch. Serve

hot with butter.

From: Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada, published

by the National Museums of Canada, ISBN 0-660-00128-4

Posted by: Jim Weller

Recipe By : Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada

From: Marjorie Scofield Date: 11-08-95 (11:31) (160)

Fido: Recipes

88

Bread Acorn

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (can be 3/4 cup w; heat and

1/4 cup carob fl

or just use a total of 2 cups acorn; flour)


1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons honey

1 egg

1 cup raw milk

3 tablespoons oil



89

Burning Tree Acorn Bread

reads

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3 tbl Sugar

1 pc egg; beaten

1 cup milk

1 tbl oil

Mix together, acorn meal, white flour, baking powder, salt




pan and bake at 400F. for 30 minutes. NOTE: Acorn flour

purchased at any Korean Store.

90

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Bread Recipes

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup whole wheat flour or

3/4 cup wheat and

1/4 cup carob flour or just use a

1 total of

2 cup acorn flour


1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon honey

1 egg

1 cup raw milk

3 tablespoon oil



PANCAKES

I use the above recipe for making pancakes simply by

adding more milk or water until the consistency is correct

for pancake batter. They are excellent when served with

gooseberry topping. From: "Linda Roberts"

<lrobe684@bellsou

91

Christopher's Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn flour,


3/4 cup carob flour,

3 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. sea salt

3 tbs. honey,

1 egg,

1 cup raw milk,

3 tbs. oil.

Here's the recipe for my favorite acorn bread. Mix well and

bake in greased pan for about 45 minutes (or longer) at

250°F

92

Contemporary Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn meal

1 cup all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

3 tablespoon oil





pan and bake at 400F. for 30 minutes. From: "Mignonne "

<mignonne-Al@e...> Date:

93

Honey Acorn Bread

4 cups flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ginger

1 cup honey

2 cups milk

2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped acorns

margarine

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Grease two loaf pans with margarine. Mix together all dry

ingredients, thoroughly. Beat eggs, gradually adding milk.

Add egg mixture alternately with honey to dry ingredients.

Beat well. Stir in acorns and pour evenly into loaf pans.

Bake in cardboard oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until

golden. If bread is done, it will come out of pan easily

when pan is turned over and tapped gently. If not, bake for

another 10-15 minutes. Remove bread from pan

immediately when done and cool. This spicy bread always

tastes better the second day when its .flavors have had a

chance to mellow and blend.

94

Mixed Grain Acorn Bread

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup coarse ground, leached acorn meal

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp. dry granulated yeast

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tbsp. salt


2 eggs, beaten

about 8 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup honey

butter

Pour boiling water over oats, cornmeal, and acorn meal.

Set aside. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. In a large

mixing bowl, beat the hot oatmeal mixture with the rest of

the ingredients, except for the yeast and butter, adding the

flour a cup at a time until you get a medium batter. Cool to

lukewarm. Then add the yeast. Mix well and add enough

flour until you have a spongy dough that is not sticky.

Knead, adding flour if necessary to keep from being sticky.

Place in a greased bowl and grease the top of dough, then

cover it with a moist, warm kitchen towel and set it in a

warm place until it doubles in size. Punch down, knead

several times, and let rise again. Shape into loaves and

place in greased bread pans or on a greased cookie sheet.

This also makes great rolls, so you can use a cake pan,

making golf ball sized rolls. Cover and let rise again until

almost double. Preheat the oven to 350° F and bake for

about 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Brush

with butter and cool.

95

You can also make this bread in camp, using smaller

loaves and a reflector oven or forming 1/2 inch thick by 1

inch wide by 8 inch long sticks and twisting the dough

around a green stick and gently baking over medium

coals?never a fire.

96

Multi-Grain Bread With Acorn Meal:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup coarse ground, leached acorn meal

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp. dry granulated yeast

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tbsp. salt


2 eggs, beaten

about 8 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup honey

butter

Let’s take a look at one of my mixed grain breads with

acorn meal to see how it differs from the Indian cakes

above. Pour boiling water over oats, cornmeal, and acorn

meal. Set aside. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. In a

large mixing bowl, beat the hot oatmeal mixture with the

rest of the ingredients, except for the yeast and butter,

adding the flour a cup at a time until you get a medium

batter. Cool to lukewarm. Then add the yeast. Mix well

and add enough flour until you have a spongy dough that is

not sticky. Knead, adding flour if necessary to keep from

being sticky. Place in a greased bowl and grease the top of

dough, then cover it with a moist, warm kitchen towel and

set it in a warm place until it doubles in size. Punch down,

knead several times, and let rise again. Shape into loaves

and place in greased bread pans or on a greased cookie

sheet.

This also makes great rolls, so you can use a cake pan,

making golf ball sized rolls. Cover and let rise again until

almost double. Preheat the oven to 350° F and bake for

about 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Brush

with butter and cool.

97

You can also make this bread in camp, using smaller

loaves and a reflector oven or forming 1/2 inch thick by 1

inch wide by 8 inch long sticks and twisting the dough

around a green stick and gently baking over medium

coals—never a fire.

So far, we’ve talked about using acorn meal as a grain. But

the acorn is so much more versatile. Most Native

Americans and early settlers used acorn meal as either an

ingredient in mush, which is sort of a thick, mealy soup, or

pounded with meat, fat, and berries, making pemmican. In

a survival situation which requires lightweight, high calorie

foods, pemmican would be a good choice. (But, of course,

many of us really don’t need the extra fat in our diets.)

Here are a couple recipes for these uses of the acorn. When

I say “acorn meal,” I mean ground, leached-till-mild acorn

meal, not raw.

98

Tom & Judy Brown's Famous Acorn Yeast

Bread

2 cups warm water

1 tbl dry yeast

1/4 cup honey or sugar

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

2 cups acorn masa or 1 1/2 cups acorn flou; r plus

one cup water

5 1/2 cups whole wheat (or white) flour

In bowl combine water, yeast, and honey or sugar. Stir.

Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Add 4 cups flour

and stir. Place one cup flour on counter and place dough in

center of it. Knead for 10-15 minutes, adding remaining

flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking to counter.

Oil large bowl and place dough in it, turning once so both

top and bottom are oiled. Cover and let stand in warm area

until doubled (about two hours). After doubling, punch

down and let rest 10 minutes. Knead about 10 times and

divide into two loaves. Place on cookie sheet or form into

loaves and put in loaf pans. Let rise again until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

99

Breakfast

100

Acorn & Egg Breakfast

For this I have on hand cold boiled potatoes. Make sure the

potatoes are cold, if they are warm they’ll mush. Sauté 3

Tbs. chopped onion with two chopped cold potatoes in 2

Tbs. vegetable oil. Add 1/4 cup leached, cooked, cooled

and strained acorns*, and 3-4 beaten eggs (or egg whites).

Mix together then top with shredded cheese and cover.

When cheese is melted it’s done. Variations: Instead of

potatoes add 1 can drained corn. Be creative with this and

use green onions, parsley...spices like sweet basil, sage,

celery, paprika...hot peppers, green peppers, mushrooms,

chives, cilantro, etc.

101

Acorn Cinnamon Pancakes

sift together, mix well with forlk

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

stir in mixing well:

2 egg whites

1-1/2 cups cold milk

2 tbs. honey

1/3 cup pre-cooked, cooled strained acorns; *

1 tbs. vegetable oil

Heat griddle only moderately hot. If the griddle is too high,

pancakes will be too mottled with dark and light patches, if

too low, you’ll get pale pancakes that might be heavy and

tough. The perfect pancake will bake quickly and evenly

with a smooth golden- brown surface. These pancakes

have a little bit different texture, but they are very good.

They may be a bit more moist inside than your usual

recipe. Top with yogurt, maple syrup or fresh fruit like

strawberries, blackberries, blueberries or cherries.

102

Acorn Griddle Cakes

3 tbl melted butter

3/4 cup milk

1/3 unbleached flour

1 teas bakeing powder

1/3 teas salt

1 tbl honey

1 egg beaten

2/3 cup finley ground leached acorn meal; (*)

Combine dry ingredients. Mix together.. egg & milk then

beat into dry ingredients, forming a smooth batter. Add

butter. Drop batter unto hot greased griddle. Bake turning

each cake, when it is browned on underside,puffed and

slightly set on top. makes 12-15 cakes.

(*) Grind acorns. Spread meal 1/2' thick on porous cloth

and pour HOT water over the meal. repeat several times

OR boil acorns for 2 HOURS, pour off Black water. Soak

in cold water 3-4 days, then grind into a paste or pulverize

acorns. Allow water to trickle thru meal ( put meal in

Muslin bag and place bag in clear running stream ) for 20

hours. dry & grind again.

103

Acorn Griddle Cakes 2

2/3 c finely ground leached acorn meal

1/3 c unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 tsp. salt

1 tbl honey

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c milk

3 tbl melted butter

Combine dry ingredients. Mix together egg and milk, then

beat into dry ingredients, forming a smooth batter. Add

butter. Drop batter onto hot, greased griddle. Bake, turning

each cake when it is browned on underside and puffed and

slightly set on top.

104

Acorn Pancakes

1 cup acorn meal

1 cup flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

2 eggs, beaten

11/2 cups milk

3 tbsp oil

Sift together dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl mix

together eggs, milk and oil. Then, combine dry ingredients

with liquid mixture. Spread batter thinly on a hot griddle.

When edges begin to bubble, flip and brown other side.

Serve with maple syrup or jelly.

105

Acorn Pancakes

acorn bread recipe

I use the acorn bread recipe for making pancakes simply by

adding more milk or water until the consistency is correct

for pancake batter. They are excellent when served with

gooseberry topping.

106

Acorn Pancakes

1/2 c. white flour

1 c. acorn flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/4 c. milk

3 T. butter

In a bowl, mix flours, baking powder, and salt. In another

bowl mix egg, milk, and butter. Pour milk mixture into dry

ingredients and stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients.

Spoon onto greased hot grill or frying pan. Turn once.

Serve with maple syrup or wild jellies.

107

Acorn Pancakes I

1 cup acorn meal

1 cup flour

2 tbl baking powder

1 tbl Salt

3 tbl Sugar

2 pc egg; beaten

1 1/2 cup milk

3 tbl oil

Mix together dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl mix

together eggs, milk and oil. Then, combine dry ingredients

with liquid mixture. Spread batter thinly on a hot griddle.

When edges begin to bubble, flip and brown other side.

Serve with maple syrup or jelly.

108

Acorn Pancakes II

1 cup white flour

1 c. acorn flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, well beaten

1 1/4 c. milk

3 t. butter

In a bowl, mix flours, baking powder, and salt. In another

bowl mix egg, milk, and butter. Pour milk mixture into dry

ingredients and stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients.

Spoon onto greased hot grill or frying pan. Turn once.

Serve with maple syrup or wild jellies.

109

Acorn Tofu Breakfast

sauté until tender:

1/4 diced yellow onion

1 fresh chili pepper (i use either 1 serran; o or 1/4 to 1

jalapeno)

1 tbs. vegetable oil

1 tbs. water

remove from heat and add:

1/4 pound cubed and broken (fine as possible); tofu

1/4 cup leached, pre-cooked, cooled and str; ained

acorns*

1/4 cup leached, cooked, cooled strained; acorns*

Return to heat mixing well with chilis and onions then

remove from heat and add 2 egg whites, mixing well. Cook

this mixture as you would scrambled eggs. When almost

done, add sliced tomatoes on top and your favorite cheese.

Cover until cheese melts. I like tamari (soy sauce) on top.

Variations: Add any of the following spices when sautéing

onions basil, rosemary, thyme, paprika, cilantro.

110

Acorn and Cornmeal Pancakes

1 egg break an egg into a bowl. add:

1 teaspoon salad oil

1 teaspoon of honey or sugar

1/2 cup of ground and leached acorns

1/2 cup of corn meal

1/2 cup of whole wheat or white flour

2 teaspoons of double action baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of milk

Beat all together. If the batter is too thick to pour, thin it

with milk. Pour pancakes into a hot, greased griddle and

cook slowly until brown on both sides.

Serve with butter and syrup or wild blackberry jam.

Delicious!!

111

Grandma's Acorn Griddle Bread With Syrup

3 c cornmeal

3 c acorn flour

1/4 c flour

2 ts baking soda

3 c milk

3 ea eggs beaten

1 1/2 ts salt

1 1/2 ts vanilla

Mix dry ingredients, add milk and stir until all ingredients

are moist. Then add beaten eggs and vanilla. Stir until

mixed well. Ladle on a hot greased griddle (I use a no stick

one now and cut out the grease.)

112

Cake/cookie

113

Acorn Chocolate Chip Raisin Walnut

Cookies

1 cup leached, pre-cooked, cooled, & stra; ined

acorns*

1/2 cup honey

2 egg whites

1 tsp. vanilla

add & mix well:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

l tsp. baking soda

2/3 cup milk

then add this too & mix well:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnut pieces

There is no added oil in this recipe. Fats in here are in the

chocolate chips, walnuts and in the acorns. Mix with

spatula: Drop by rounded teaspoons onto un-greased

cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes. Always

watch your cookies, oven temperatures vary.

114

Acorn Cookies

1 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine,*

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

* divided in 3/4 cup portions

This is an easy yet elegant butter-acorn cookie shaped to

resemble an acorn and dipped in melted chocolate chips

and chopped acorns.

Preheat oven to 375ø.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, 3/4 cup

chopped acorns and vanilla on medium speed until well

blended. Add flour and baking powder and mix well, using

low speed.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Slightly flatten by pressing

balls onto ungreased cookie sheets; pinch tops to point to

resemble acorns. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375ø. Remove

from oven and cool on wire racks.

In top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt

chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat;

keep double boiler over water. Dip large ends of cooled

cookies into melted chocolate, then roll in chopped pecans.

Cool to set chocolate.

Yield: 3 dozen.

115

Cakes

116

Acorn Cheesecake

crust

2 cups finely crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup vegetable oil (to save calories, om; it oil)

filling

8 oz. package cream cheese

1/4 cup honey

3 egg whites

1/2 cup leached, ground & strained acorns*

1/2 cup sweetened apple sauce

crust Blend well, then press this mixture into a pie pan. Let

cream cheese soften at room temperature, then mix filling,

blending well. I use a potato masher. Add filling to crust

and bake in a hot oven (425 F) for 10 minutes. Turn oven

down to 350° and bake 25 more minutes. This should set

very firmly. If your oven is already warmed up, you might

bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Refrigerate and top with

your favorite fruit; blueberries or strawberries, etc. Or eat

the cheesecake with vanilla ice cream.

117

Acorn Hominy Cake

2 cups homony; drained

2 tbl sorghum syrup

2 tbl oil

milk; to make loose paste

1/2 cup masa

1/2 cup homony paste

1/2 cup acor flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 pc egg

1 tbl sorghum syrup

1 tbl oil

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

1 tbl guten flour

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Blend first four (4) ingredients in a blender set at puree

until a smmoth loose paste is accomlished.

2. Mix the remaing ingredients with 1/2 cup of the homony

paste and beat with about 50 to 70 strokes adding more

milk if to tight.

Devide into 3x5 oiled (spray) pans bake at preheated oven

375 F for 30 minutes or a tooth pick comes out clean.

Serve with vanilla ice cream drizzle with a huckleberry or

blueberry sauce.

118

Acorn Meal Cakes

acorn meal

Acorns are ground, sieved, and pressed (all while still

'wet'). You must dry it well, and it will last one year.

Reconstitute when ready to use. Use as needed. Pie crusts

can be 1/3 meal cake. Can toast, and use as regular meal

for nuttier flavor.

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Acorn Pound Cake

1 cup sugar blend together in a bowl

1/2 cup of cooking oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup of acorn masa

in another bowl, sift together:

1-1/4 cups of flour

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon of soda

Stir the second mixture into the first (a small amount at a

time) alternately with 1/4 cup of milk. (NOTE: You can

substitute one cup of honey for the cup of sugar specified

above . . . but, if you do, you should also substitute a

quarter cup of dried milk for the quarter cup of milk just

listed.) Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4

teaspoon of mace and beat well. Pour the batter into an

oiled and floured circular pan (8' inside diameter) and bake

at 350° for about one hour. No need to make frosting . . .

this is one cake that's plenty good 'as is'!

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Apache Acorn Cakes:

1 cup acorn meal, ground fine

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients with enough warm water to make a

moist, not sticky dough. Divide into 12 balls. Let rest,

covered, for 10 minutes or so. With slightly moist hands,

pat the balls down into thick tortilla-shaped breads. Bake

on an ungreased cast iron griddle over campfire coals or on

clean large rocks, propped up slightly before the coals. If

using the stones, have them hot when you place the cakes

on them. You’ll have to lightly peel an edge to peek and

see if they are done. They will be slightly brown. Turn

them over and bake on the other side, if necessary.

These cakes were carried on journeys dry and eaten alone

or with shredded meat. We cheat and add homemade

butter, too. But then, we are spoiled. Multi-grain bread

with acorn meal:

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Quick Acorn Cheesecake

filling:

1 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 egg whites


This is the first cheesecake that I made. It was very firm, as

I didn’t use the sweetened applesauce. I rather liked it,

almost better than the other version. I think it’s worth

including. Use any crust recipe you like. I didn’t have any

graham crackers on hand so I made a whole wheat pie

crust. It was fine. Follow directions from former

cheesecake recipe.

122

Desserts

123

Acorn Brownies

2 cups drained but wet cold water leached; acorn

flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup fruit juice concentrate or honey

1/2 cup water with

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix water and baking soda first then mix with other

ingredients. Bake in a greased pan at 350F for 45 min.

Cool and serve.

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Acorn Shortbread

4 oz butter -- (1 stick)

4 oz margarine -- (1 stick)

2 1/2 cups white (all-purpose) flour


3 tbls sugar

Melt the butter and margarine very slowly in a large

saucepan. Sieve/sift the dry ingredients and add them to the

melted butter and margarine. Mix to a dough using a

wooden spoon.

Press the dough into a greased Swiss roll tin/high-sided

cookie sheet. Smooth it with a knife and prick it all over

with a carving fork.

Bake at 190°C/375°F for about 25 minutes or until brown.

Mark the shortbread into fingers while it is warm and

dredge with caster (superfine) sugar. Turn onto a wire rack

when it is nearly cold.

Description: 'Shortbread used to be made slower, even

painfully, by rubbing and kneading. This new melting

method is far quicker and easier, and the shortbread could

not be better. Delicious, melting and crumbly.'

125

Peanut And Acorn Yogurt Dessert

recipe

This recipe calls for leached dried acorns*, slightly baked.

They are mixed with raw peanuts that have been slightly

roasted. Spread the acorns on a cookie sheet and bake them

at about 325° for only about 5 minutes. Be careful when

baking the ground acorns, just bake lightly. You want them

to be crunchy, too much baking will make them hard. 3/4

cup roasted and ground peanuts 1/4 cup leached, dried and

slightly baked acorns* Mix the ground peanuts with the

baked acorns and serve with plain yogurt or use as a

topping for ice cream..

126

Persimmon Acorn Cinnamon Rolls

dough

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

2-3 tablespoons sugar (brown or granulated)

1 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup persimmon pulp

1 egg white

3/4 cup acorn flour

filling

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries

glaze

1/3 cup maple syrup

a.. To make the dough, mix unbleached flour, sugar, yeast,

and salt, and set aside. b.. Place the persimmon pulp in a

small saucepan, and heat until 125-130 degrees F. Add

applesauce to flour mixture, and stir for 1 minute. Stir in

the egg white. c.. Add 2 tablespoons of the acorn flour to

the dough, and stir well. Continue to add the flour in 2-

tablespoons portions until a stiff dough is formed. d..

Knead dough for 5 minutes on a flat surface sprinkled with

2 tablespoons of flour. Gradually add enough of the

remaining flour to form a smooth, satiny ball of dough. e..

Scrape the surface, and sprinkle it with flour. Return the

dough to the surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough

into a 10-x-12-inch rectangle. Combine 2 tablespoons of

maple syrup and the cinnamon, and spread the mixture

over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Sprinkle the

cranberries over the syrup, and roll the rectangle up jelly-

roll style. f.. Lightly coat a 9-inch round pan with nonstick

cooking spray (nonfat), and pour 1/3 cup of maple syrup

over the bottom of the pan. Cut rolled-up dough into 1-inch

slices. Lay slices in the pan, cut side up, spacing them 1/2

inch part. Cover the pan with a kitchen towel, and let rise

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in a warm place for about 30-35 minutes. g.. Bake at 350

degrees F for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. To

loosen the rolls, run a knife around the edge of the pan.

Immediately place the rolls onto a plate. Serve warm.

128

Pumpkin Acorn Pudding

for cake

1 cup cake flour

1/2 cup acorn flour

1 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grape seed oil

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pie; filling)*

2 large eggs

for custard

3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pie; filling)*

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup maple syrup

8 large egg yolks

1 tbl acorn starch

Accompaniment: vanilla ice cream (optional)

*1 (15-ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin = 1 3/4 cups, just

enough for the cake and the pudding.

preparation Make cake Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 17-

by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line bottom with

parchment paper.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, acorn flour, baking

soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves,

nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

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In bowl of electric mixer, combine brown and granulated

sugars, oil, and pumpkin. Beat at medium speed until fully

combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and

gradually add flour mixture. Beat until combined, scraping

down sides of bowl occasionally. Add eggs one at a time,

beating well after each addition.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake until

toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 to

30 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool completely in

pan.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Run knife around pan sides to

loosen, then turn cake out onto rack (do not clean pan) and

remove parchment paper. Using long, serrated knife, cut

cake into 1/2-inch cubes. Return cubes to pan and bake,

turning over halfway through baking, until light brown on

all sides, about 15 minutes total. Transfer cubes to rack and

cool completely in pan.

Make puddings Preheat oven to 325°F.

Divide toasted cubes among 8 (4-ounce) ramekins. In

medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, salt, maple

syrup, and egg yolks. Pour mixture over cake cubes, filling

ramekins to tops and gently pressing on cubes to

completely coat with liquid. Cover and refrigerate until

liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

Arrange ramekins in roasting pan. Add enough hot water to

pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan

tightly with foil and bake until puddings are set and firm to

the touch, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove ramekins from pan and serve warm with vanilla

ice cream, if desired.

130

Dressing

131

White Sage Acorn Dressing

6 bags seasoned croutons

2 satlks celery; slices

2 large onioind; diced

1 cup dried acorns; chopped

1 no. 10 can water chestnuts; sliced

1 tblsp fennel seed

1 flat medium eggs; beaten

2 tblsp white sage; pulverized

turkey stock to moisten

1 cup hickory nuts; choped

Mix all dry ingreadients add eggs stir well then add turkey

stock. Bake in slow oven covered until done.

132

Game

133

Acorn Pemmican:

1 lb. lean stewing meat, cut quite small

1/2 cup dehydrated wild plums

1/2 cup acorn meal

Boil the lean stewing meat. When it is tender, drain and

allow it to dry in a bowl. Grind all of the ingredients

together in a meat grinder using a fine blade. Grind again,

mixing finely, distributing the ingredients very well. Place

in a covered dish and refrigerate overnight. (Or you can eat

right away, but like many foods, the refrigerating allows

the flavors to blend nicely.) You can serve this on any

flatbread, such as a tortilla. It is best served warm, or you

can reheat it in the pan in the oven like a meatloaf.

Acorn meal can also be used in place of a good portion (or

all) of the nuts in most desserts, from brownies to cookies.

It does depend on the variety of acorn you have available

and the taste after leaching. Some acorn meal never gets

“nutty,” only mild, while the meal of other acorns, such as

those of the Emory oak, are so sweet that you can eat them

without leaching, or with very little leaching.

You will have to experiment a bit here. But the end results

are usually surprising.

134

Acorn/Pemmican Preparation

info

Originally distributed in 1997... There are some very

important FACTS that should be made known before

anyone rushed out to try eating acorns.

Here is the process that 99% of California's Indians use to

process Acorns:

For those of you who have asked for recipes and/or

information on how we Californians gather, process, and

cook our acorns, this is for you. I take sole responsibility

for any and all typos and grammatical errors and will

hereby blame it on the server, processor, or which ever

innocent piece of hardwhere or software that wasn't on its

toes today. However, I don't take responsibility for anyone

who tries these recipes and gets deathly ill because of some

unknown allergy to members of the Quercus family or

tannic acid if you don't leach thoroughly or Sambucus

nightmares because you get nervous about that itty bitty

stem you didn't notice, o.k.?

This is what I do, what I was taught, and what hundreds of

other sentimental traditional native Californians do often,

or once in a while, or when we're hired by a school district

or state park to give the organically naive a taste of the old

life. I also failed to mention that when I'm grinding up 2 to

5 lbs of acorn meal for the consumption of others, I use a

coffee grinder bought specially for that purpose. If I'm

going to eat it myself, or serve it to close friends or family,

AFTER I finish grinding it in the coffee grinder, I will

probably grind it further in a mortar with a pestle.

Sometimes I'm convinced that I can do a better job with the

135

electric grinder. Sometimes I'm sure I can do a better job in

a bedrock mortar.... It's all a matter of preference, energy,

and time.... Six kids with six mortars can definitely go

faster than one little coffee grinder, BUT, it is good to

remember that the holes you see in a bedrock mortar got

deeper by grinding away the rock as you ground up your

acorn or other nuts. Where did the stone go to? I don't

really believe that just got deeper in the middle of the night

while the resident Indians slept. The sloughed-off stone

probably went into the acorn meal ... gulp. So, when

cooking for school kids, I do most of the grinding at home

with my coffee grinder, and let the kids do a little in the

mortars just to 'get the feel of it.'

For those who don't care about the acorn process, please

disregard all of this and go on to your next mail message.

Happy Grinding!

Lyn

ACORNS: A MAJOR North American Indian Food

California Indians did not have to be farmers, and for the

most part were hunters and gatherers. There was a ready

supply of deer, fish, rabbits, foul, native plants for

vegetables, native fruits, and even sea weed. Even so,

acorns are said to have been the main food of as many as

3/4 of our native Californians. Acorns were everywhere,

are easy to gather and store fairly well ... as long as your

storage places are squirrel tight. Some groups buried

baskets of nuts until they were needed. Some claim that

white acorns were the most preferred because they were

sweet and often eaten without leaching. I have never eaten

white acorns so I can't say anything about them.

136

The most common oaks found in the San Francisco Bay

area are the Tan Oak, Black Oak, California Live Oak, and

Valley Oak. Many of these have been seriously endangered

through the process of turning pasture land into housing

developments, with the Live Oak being the least threatened

-- since this oak is not deciduous, it offers 'building

development appeal' by remaining 'green and healthy

looking' all year.

Many of the Pomos prefer the Tan Oak because they feel it

has more flavor. Many of the MiWuks prefer the Black

Oak because it takes less leaching to get rid of the tannin.

Many of us don't like the California live oak because 'its

too much work for the amount of meal you get compared

to the amount of leaching you have to do,' 'its got no

character,' 'too wormy,' or 'its too easy to get -- nothing that

plentiful can be very good.' The list goes on and on. My

favorite is the Black Oak ... with a little Tan Oak added for

character.

Acorns are gathered in the fall after they are ripe, Early in

the season you will occasionally find acorns without their

'little hats' lying on the ground. These are usually buggy.

(If the acorn is so heavy that it pulls itself from its cap, it is

usually because there is a worm flipping itself about inside

the acorn, and all this activity is what breaks the nut free

from its cap and the tree.) When the acorns are actually

ripe, they fall from the tree, cap intact. If you see any holes

in them, throw them away. They are sometimes stored first,

to dry them out, and then shelled. Other groups shell them

first, and then dry them out by placing them someplace

safe, yet warm, to dry. For the ultimate in information on

processing acorn, refer to a new book about Yosemite's

Julia Parker, written by Park Naturalist Bev Ortiz which

came out in 1992 or 1993. It was published by the same

group that produces News from Native California, headed

by Malcolm Margolin.

137

There is first and foremost, the original recipe: AFTER

THE ACORNS ARE **COMPLETELY DRY** &

REMOVED FROM THEIR SHELLS, the Acorns are

ground until the meal is so fine that 'it will stick to the

basket sifter' when it is turned upside down. When you

have determined that you have ground the acorns to 'primo'

consistency, you must then leach it. This was traditionally

accomplished (before we had woven cloth to work with)

by building a mound of fine sand, near a spring or the

river, and then scooping out the center. The meal you

wished to leach was placed in the center of this mound and

water poured over a clean cedar bough which was placed

or held above the acorn meal. The tannin would leach out

of the acorn meal and harmlessly down into the sand.

When tasting it showed the tannin had been removed, the

meal was carefully removed from its sand 'colander' and

put into a cooking basket. Water is added -- the correct

amount for the amount of acorn meal you are going to use,

which is something that takes a while to adjust to. Too

much water will require cooking longer to get the

consistency you want. Not enough water and the acorn will

burn. Then special cooking rocks were heated in a fire,

rinsed off, and using special stirring sticks, the rocks were

stirred in the basket to heat the acorn solution thoroughly.

As each rock cooled down, it was removed, and another

hot clean rock took its place in the cooking basket. The

rock that had been removed was washed off and placed

back in the fire to reheat and await its turn to become a

cooking implement once again. In what seems like no time

at all, the acorn soup is boiling, and the stirring continues

until the soup is of the desired consistency -- either thin to

eat with a spoon, or thicker to eat with a fork, depending

on what the 'cook' has in mind. Though the above 'soup'

was eaten straight by the traditional people, I usually add a

little salt, and occasionally some dried currents or blue

138

elderberries, or even raisins. Some people like to add a

little cinnamon.

The rocks are saved for the next time, since finding perfect

rocks that won't explode when subjected to heat, or won't

crumble into the food, or give a bad taste, etc., are not as

easy to find as you might think. The baskets, tools,

implements, rocks, etc. used to cook acorn are considered a

family legacy and kept within a family to be passed down

from generation to generation. What makes a good cooking

basket is the subject of another dissertation and shall not be

gone into at this time. Ask the next expert basket weaver

you meet to explain to you how a cooking basket is made.

ALTERNATIVE LEACHING METHODS, & NATURAL

DYING USES

The alternative method of leaching, which I personally use

(as do most of the people I have spoken to about this

subject) is to take my winnowing basket (or a broad-

bottomed basket), place a clean, 'white' UNBLEACHED

cloth (like a tea towel used just for this purpose....which

will never be white again) in the bottom of the basket, and

then place your finely ground acorn meal on top of the

cloth. Then I get a piece of cedar branch (new growth

preferred and place it on top of the acorn meal and run

water on it, VERY SLOWLY. I place my basket on top of

a large cooking pot (so that I can save the tannin water) in

such a way that when the pot fills up, my basket won't be

sitting in the water, and the pot can overflow. I check on

the leaching process periodically, so I can empty the soup

kettle as it fills.

Since I am also a weaver and spinner, who does natural

dying on occasion, a day or two before I know I'm going to

be leaching acorn, I wash any uncolored wool fleece I may

have on hand that I will want to dye later, or any white

139

yarn I want to dye in the near future...IF I REMEMBER.

Sometimes I don't plan ahead. Anyway, as the acorn

leaching pot fills, I will pour this tannin-filled water into

the washing machine, where I later place up to 3 or 4 lbs of

clean white wool or yarn to soak up the tannic acid

solution. When I am ready to dye the wool at a later date,

the color will come out much more dramatically that it

would if I had used 'untreated fleece'.

Another way I have heard of to leach acorn, which I have

NEVER tried and probably never will, is to SCRUB the

water tank on your toilet to remove any algae, and use this

'sanitary' part of your toilet to leach your acorn meal. It

makes sense to use water that otherwise is wasted but it

doesn't seem like a very aesthetic topic of conversation for

a public gathering ... I can hear it now: 'Gee, this acorn

mush isn't half bad .... you must have leached it really

thoroughly.' 'Why yes I do; I let it sit in a clean muslin bag

in my toilet tank for a week or so...' Then watch your

dinner guests put their food down, never to eat at your

camp fire again. The girl that shared this bit of information

with us had just remodeled her house, had a brand new

toilet, and hence no green film in the tank, so she thought it

was the perfect opportunity to try out a method she had

heard of, or had a theory about. She also went on to say,

that she was glad her new toilet was a pale brown color

because the tannin discolored her the toilet bowl for quite

some time....

Below is a recipe that I have used as recently as last year

which is a good one to serve to those who stubbornly

believe that acorn meal is yucky ... they'll never even know

its there unless you tell them later -- and then they'll say

things like 'oh, that's why it was so bland,' or 'oh, that's

why I didn't like it,' or 'that's why it got hungry an hour

later.' If you want to be sure you are actually tasting the

meal, use the recipe exactly as is. Once you feel confident

140

that you wish to include the meal, but you want to add

more character to the stew, feel free to add garlic, green

pepper, carrots, etc. The acorn then replaces the starch of

the potato, and provides you with more nutrition than the

potato would provide.

141

Modern Pemmican:

1 lb. lean stewing meat, cut quite small

1/2 cup dehydrated wild plums

1/2 cup acorn meal

Boil the lean stewing meat. When it is tender, drain and

allow it to dry in a bowl. Grind all of the ingredients

together in a meat grinder using a fine blade. Grind again,

mixing finely, distributing the ingredients very well. Place

in a covered dish and refrigerate overnight. (Or you can eat

right away, but like many foods, the refrigerating allows

the flavors to blend nicely.) You can serve this on any

flatbread, such as a tortilla. It is best served warm, or you

can reheat it in the pan in the oven like a meatloaf.

Acorn meal can also be used in place of a good portion (or

all) of the nuts in most desserts, from brownies to cookies.

It does depend on the variety of acorn you have available

and the taste after leaching. Some acorn meal never gets

“nutty,” only mild, while the meal of other acorns, such as

those of the Emory oak, are so sweet that you can eat them

without leaching, or with very little leaching.

You will have to experiment a bit here. But the end results

are usually surprising.

142

Main Dish

143

Acorn Casserole

2/3 cup acorns; leached

1 1/2 cups Water

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tble Salsa

2 tble Tamari

6 pcs bread whole wheat; chopped

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp sweet basil

1/4 tsp marjoram

3 pcs eggs

3/4 cup leached acorns* Boil in 1-1/2 cups water about 10

minutes, until acorns thicken just a little. Remove from

heat and add 1/2 cup ketchup and 2 tablespoons prepared

salsa and 2 tablespoons tamari. Stir well and set aside.

Chop up 6 pieces of whole wheat (or other) bread and put

in a medium sized casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika,

sweet basil and marjoram. Add 2 egg whites and one

whole egg (or just 3 egg whites), and mix. Add the acorn

sauce and mix well. Cover with cheddar cheese and top

with black olives. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350°

144

Acorn Cheese Pies

6 pcs acorn bisquits

1/2 cup jack cheese; shredded

1 cup acorn spagehtti sauce

Make acorn biscuits (see recipe). Make them the size of

muffins. Put about 6 of them in a large rectangle casserole

dish and cover with acorn spaghetti sauce (see recipe). Top

with jack cheese and warm in a 250° oven about 30

minutes, melting cheese. This makes a fantastic main dish.

Good for a pot luck.

145

Acorn Enchiladas

1 dozen corn tortillas

1 medium size can of tomato puree

1 cup pre-cooked acorns*

1-2 tbs. chili powder

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbs. soy sauce

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

pinch of sugar

1 tbs. olive oil

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Add tomato puree,

chili powder and soy sauce and simmer 5-10 minutes,

stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Steam tortillas, or

microwave to soften. Add remaining ingredients to sauce,

and spoon into tortillas. Mixture should be thick, not

runny. Place in a large casserole dish, cover with shredded

cheese and bake in oven at 350° for 20 minutes.

146

Acorn Lasagna

chop and sauté in olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil:

1/2 onion

2 stalks celery

handful of mushrooms

1/4 tsp. dried basil

pinch oregano

pinch black pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

when onions are soft remove from he; at and add,

mixing well:

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (5 3/4 oz) drained pitted black olives

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1-10 oz. pkg. chopped spinach

1 small can tomato sauce


1 tsp. honey

In a large casserole dish (13x9x2), layer this whole mixture

with uncooked lasagna noodles, alternating noodles then

above mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with an

inverted cookie sheet (saves valuable natural resources like

tin foil) making sure that the lasagna pasta is covered with

enough liquid so it cooks as it bubbles and bakes. Bake for

45 minutes at 350°.

147

Acorn Veggie Loaf

1 1/2 pounds leached & drained acorns*

1 1/2 pounds shredded zucchini

1/4 pound shredded cauliflower

2 large chopped green onions

1 cup whole wheat flour

1-1/2 cups water

1 tsp. chopped garlic

2 tbs. olive oil

4 tbs. nutritional yeast

1 tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

1 tsp basil

This is one of my earlier recipes. I found it on a note.

Unless you have a scale, you’ll have to “guess” at the

weights. I thought it was worth including. Mix this all

together. If it is too thick and dry add more water. If it is

too watery add more flour. Place in an oiled glass bread

pan and bake at 325° for approximately 30 minutes.

Baking time may vary. Slice and serve with lots of red

miso.

148

Acorns & Rice

sauté together in 1 tablespoon vege; table oil until

mushrooms are tender:

1-1/2 cups chopped mushrooms

pinch garlic salt

1/4 minced fresh jalapeno pepper

1/4 tsp five-spice (used in chinese cooking; )

pinch of celery seed (or 1/4 cup fr; esh diced celery)

1/8 tsp. dried sage

1/8 tsp. paprika

1 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. water

add to above mixture mixing well:

5 cups pre-cooked and cooled brown rice

1/2 cup leached, pre-cooked, cooled and str; ained

acorns*

1/4 cup soy sauce

Place entire mixture in a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. Top

with 1/4 cup chopped green onions. Cover and microwave

on high for 10 minutes or bake at 325° for 20 minutes

149

Acorns With Black Bean Broth & Pasta

3 cups broth from cooking black beans

1-1/4 cup dried elbow pasta

1/4 cup ketchup

3/4 cup pre-cooked, leached & strained acor; ns*

tamari (soy sauce)

Cook the pasta in the broth until done. After it has cooked

to desired texture, add remaining ingredients. This is very

good. It tastes as if you had added cheese to it.

150

Chicken With Jalapeño Acorn Sauce

1/4 cup green bell pepper -- chopped

2 jalapeño peppers -- finely chopped

1 large clove garlic -- minced

1 tablespoons canola oil

4 boneless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon acorn starch

1 1/2 cup milk

few drops hot pepper sauce or to ta; ste, or a dash

of ground

1/4 teaspoons salt

ground black pepper

jalapeño pepper rings

fry bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the bell

pepper, jalapeño pepper, garlic and oil. Place chicken

breasts in a shallow baking pan sprayed lightly with non-

stick cooking spray; add pepper and oil mixture. Bake

uncovered for 20 minutes.

While the chicken bakes, melt butter or margarine in

saucepan. Add the flour and acorn starch and stir for 1

minute. Whisk in milk, stirring until sauce starts to thicken.

Remove from heat; hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Pour

the sauce over the chicken. Continue baking, uncovered,

for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until chicken is done and

juices run clear. Remove the chicken from oven and then

set the oven to broil. Return the chicken to the oven; broil

just until lightly browned. Arrange on a serving platter

with sauce spooned over chicken breast halves. Garnish

with jalapeño pepper rings and serve with fry bread, if

desired.

151

Elk Stew With Acorn Dumplings

4 slices bacon, halved

1 1/2 lb elk or beef chuck steak, trimmed an; d cubes

1 quart water plus 1/2 cup

1 1/4 cup chopped onions

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large turnip, diced

1/4 cup acorn meal or finely ground hazelnu; ts

----ACORN DUMPLINGS----

1/2 cup acorn meal or finely ground hazelnu; ts


1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until some

of its fat is rendered. Add elk and brown with the bacon.

Add 1 quart of water, onion, bey leaves, and salt. Cover

and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add potatoes, carrot and

turnop and ocok 30 minutes longer. Combine remaining

water with acorn meal and stir into the simmering stew. In

a bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and beat until

smooth. Drop by tablespoonfuls into the simmering stew.

Cover tightly and steam 12 to 15 minutes.

From " Spirit of The Harvest: North American Indian

Cooking," by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs.

152

Split Pea Acorn Dinner

Recipe

Rinse dried split peas. Cover with twice as much water and

cook until done. Don’t let them get too thick. Add 1/4 cup

leached acorns* for every cup of split peas you cook, and

simmer slowly for 1/2 hour with chopped green onions,

garlic and sweet basil. Season with miso or tamari (soy

sauce). Serve with a salad. Split peas and acorns are so

good together you can omit the spices, garlic and onion,

and it will still be tasty. I add a little soy sauce to each

bowl of soup. It is an easy meal and very hearty.

153

Muffins

154

Acorn Muffins

1 cup acorn flour (leached)

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

3 tbsp salad oil

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1cup milk

Here are some modern bread recipes using some of our

native nuts and beans. We also prepare them the old way

for special occasions. Mix well and put into small greased

baking dish Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes

155

Acorn Muffins

1 1/3 cup flour

or 1/2 and 1/2 with corn meal

2/3 cup acorn flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2/3 tsp Salt

2 pcs eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup Butter; melted

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup apples; peeled chopped

1 cup cranberries; raw sliced

1/2 cup hickory nuts; chopped

You'll want to use acorns from the so-called "soft" oak

species (White Oak, Swamp White Oak, Chestnut Oak,

Post Oak, Bur Oak, etc,. i.e., the species with rounded

lobes on their leaves), as they are lower in tannic acid and

therefore less bitter than acorns from the so-called "hard"

oak species (Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, Northern Oak, Pin

Oak, etc., all of which have leaves with pointy lobes). To

make acorn flour, shell the acorns, and (if their bitterness is

still too strong for your taste) leach some of the tannic acid

out by boiling the shelled nuts for a few minutes in several

changes of water. Dry the nut meats out (e.g., by spreading

them out on a cookie sheet and sticking them in a warm

oven for a few hours), then pulverize in a food processor

until it's the consistency of flour or a fine-grained meal.

The delicious and distinctive flavor of the acorn flour will

be quite evident in the muffins despite the fact that it

makes up only 1/3 of the flour used in this recipe.

Dry ingredients: 1 1/3 cup white flour (OK to mix 1/2 and

1/2 with corn meal) 2/3 cup acorn flour (prepared as

156

described above) 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup light brown

sugar 3/4 tsp. salt

Wet ingredients: 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

Fruit and nuts: 1 cup peeled, chopped apples 1 cup sliced

raw cranberries 1/2 cup chopped hickory nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Get well-greased muffin

tins ready. Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl; mix

wet ingredients together in another bowl (beat eggs before

adding); then mix dry and wet ingredients together with

just a few strokes (do not overmix; lumps are OK), quickly

fold in fruit and nuts, then spoon mixture into muffin tins,

filling up each compartment about halfway (add water to

any surplus compartments to protect the pan and help keep

the muffins moist while baking).

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 18 small or 12

large muffins.

157

Acorn Muffins 1

1 cup (packed) acorn mush

1 cup plain white flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/6 cup maple syrup (real stuff, not the fl; avoured

crap)

1/2 an egg (whisked gently, so you *can* h; alve it)

1/4 cup milk

1.5 tsp vegetable oil

Combine the acorn mush, flour and baking powder in a

mixing bowl. Stir to combine - crumb if necessary to get a

homogenous mixture.

Create a well in the mixture, and add the maple syrup, egg,

milk and vegetable oil. Combine gently.

Spoon into lightly greased muffin trays and cook for 15

minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Test by inserting a wooden

skewer - if it comes out clean: they're done.

158

Russ Cohen's Acorn Muffins

1 1/3 c white flour (1/2 and 1/2 with corn; meal)

2/3 c acorn flour

2 ts baking powder

1/2 c light brown sugar

3/4 ts salt

2 eggs

1 c milk

1/3 c melted butter

1/4 c maple syrup

fruit and nuts:

1 c peeled, chopped apples

1 c sliced raw cranberries

1/2 c chopped hickory nuts

You'll want to use acorns from the so-called 'soft' oak

species (White Oak, Swamp White Oak, Chestnut Oak,

Post Oak, Bur Oak, etc,.( the species with rounded lobes on

their leaves), as they are lower in tannic acid and therefore

less bitter than acorns from the so-called 'hard' oak species

(Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, Northern Oak, Pin Oak, etc., all

of which have leaves with pointy lobes). To make acorn

flour, shell the acorns, and (if their bitterness is still too

strong for your taste) leach some of the tannic acid out by

boiling the shelled nuts for a few minutes in several

changes of water. Dry the nut meats out (e.g., by spreading

them out on a cookie sheet and sticking them in a warm

oven for a few hours), then pulverize in a food processor

until it's the consistency of flour or a fine-grained meal.

The delicious and distinctive flavor of the acorn flour will

be quite evident in the muffins despite the fact that it

makes up only 1/3 of the flour used in this recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Get well-greased muffin

tins ready. Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl; mix

wet ingredients together in another bowl (beat eggs before

159

adding); then mix dry and wet ingredients together with

just a few strokes (do not overmix; lumps are OK), quickly

fold in fruit and nuts, then spoon mixture into muffin tins,

filling up each compartment about halfway (add water to

any surplus compartments to protect the pan and help keep

the muffins moist while baking).

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 18 small or 12 large muffins.

160

Savory Acorn Muffins

1 c. acorn flour

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. flour

3 t. baking powder

1 t. garlic or onion salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

11/2 c. milk

2 T. bacon drippings, melted

This was once a hard-times bread because acorns are so

plentiful and cost nothing. Sweet or nut muffins can be

made from this recipe by adding 4 tablespoons sugar to the

dry ingredients, omitting the garlic or onion salt (substitute

1 T. plain salt), and substituting melted shortening for the

bacon fat. Add ½ cup walnuts or pecans to the batter, if

you like. Preheat oven to 425F. Sift together the acorn

flour, corn meal, flour, baking powder, and the onion or

garlic salt. Beat egg and milk together; stir in bacon

drippings. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir just until

moistened; don’t overmix. Pour into well-greased muffin

tins and bake 15 minutes, or until brown and crusty.

161

Pies

162

Acorn Pie

3 egg whites, beaten stiff


1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

20 soda crackers; coarsely broken

1/2 cup sweet acorns, chopped

Beat egg whites until stiff; add baking powder and beat

more. Add sugar and vanilla; beat again. Fold in crackers

and acorns. Put in buttered pie plate and bake at 300

degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool and top with Cool Whip

and chopped pecans. Randy Rigg

163

Relishes/preserves

164

Acorn Pickles

2 cups whole acorns, leached

5-6 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Sterilize jar and lid, pack with acorns, bay leaf and mustard

seed. Heat vinegar and honey, add to jar, add boiling water.

Leave 1/2 ' head room. Refrigerate 3 months.

165

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Pickles

2 cup whole acorns, leached

6 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Sterilize jar and lid, pack with acorns, bay leaf and mustard

seed. Heat vinegar and honey, add to jar, add boiling water.

Leave 1/2 " head room. Refrigerate 3 months.

These recipes are from an article by Christopher Nyerges

(www.self-reliance.net) in COUNTRYSIDE & SMALL

STOCK JOURNAL, Vol. 85 No.6, November/December

2001. "Christopher is the author of GUIDE TO WILD

FOODS and ENTER THE FOREST. He has led Wild

Food Outings since 1974. He and his wife operate the

School of Self-reliance, teaching classes in wild plant

identification and cooking. From: "Linda Roberts"

<lrobe684@bellsou

166

Salads

167

Acorns & Pasta

1 pound cooked whole wheat macaroni shells

1/2 to 1 cup cooked acorns*

1 tbs. soy sauce

olive oil or butter to taste

Mix ingredients together and sprinkle with Parmesan

cheese. You can get creative with this by adding hot

peppers, mushrooms, olives, red peppers, etc.

168

Kidney Bean Acorn Salad

1-15 oz. can red kidney beans (or of course; you can

cook up fresh bea

1- hard-boiled egg

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup leached, cooked, cooled and straine; d

acorns*

1 tsp. vinegar

Mash the egg with the mayonnaise, vinegar & acorns.

Drain beans, reserving liquid. Use the liquid if it’s too dry.

If desired add, chopped parsley, scallions or diced red

onion, salt & pepper. Surprisingly good!!

169

Korean Acorn Noodle Salad

Acorn Noodles

This is a very unique salad using noodles made of a starch

that comes from acorns. Acorn starch used to be an

emergency food during the Korean War when people there

were suffering from hunger. In recent years, however,

acorn noodles have come to be considered a healthy food

because acorns are a good source of high quality vegetable

protein. Although acorns contain a high level of tannin and

in their natural state are quite bitter, chefs refine the taste

by carefully removing the bitterness before creating this

tasty dish. Eating these firm dotori (acorn) noodles and lots

of vegetables with house hot sauce based dressing is very

refreshing for both your body and mind. This item is

strongly recommended.

170

Sandwiches

171

Acorn Burgers

1/2 cup coarse meal

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, chopped

1 egg

Combine meal, water, and salt, boil 15 minutes to soften.

Melt the butter, and sauté one chopped onion. Mix with

acorn meal, and egg, season to taste, make patties and

cook/fry.

172

Acorn Salad Sandwich

mix together:

1 cup leached, cooked & cooled acorns*

5-6 tbs. light mayonnaise

dash hot sauce

salt & pepper

2 tbs. chopped dill pickle

Serve on whole wheat toast with crisp lettuce, or alfalfa

sprouts.

173

Acorn Spinach Burgers

1 small box chopped frozen spinach

1-1/2 cup leached, pre-cooked, cooled &; strained

acorns*

2 eggs or just egg whites

1/2 cup flour

Mix, then shape into patties and brown in vegetable oil or

put on lightly greased cookie sheet and brown in a

350°oven until done. Variations: Substitute the same

amount of your favorite vegetable instead of spinach, ie;

corn, broccoli, etc.

174

Beets & Acorns

2-1/4 cups leached acorns* in a small amount o; f

water with:

3 good-sized raw shredded beets

1/2 chopped white onion

pinch each of basil and sage

The beets are nice because they’re alkaline. Cook until

beets are done. Serve on a bed of lettuce, or on pita bread,

whole wheat or rye toast.

175

Chris Nyerge's Acorn Burgers

1/2 cup coarse meal

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, chopped

1 egg

Combine meal, water, and salt, boil 15 minutes to soften.

Melt the butter, and saut‚ one chopped onion. Mix with

acorn meal, and egg, season to taste, make patties and

cook/fry. From: "Linda Roberts" <lrobe684@bellsou

176

Sauce

177

Acorn Spaghetti Sauce

1 medium sized chopped yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. dried sweet basil

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

1/8 tsp. dried paprika

pinch of dried celery seed

1/8 tsp. dried sage

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1/4 tsp. oregano

pinch dried rosemary

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar or honey

saute in

2 tablespoons olive oil.

after sautéing, add

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes.

stir in

1/2 cup uncooked leached and drained acorn*; meal.

Cook on high heat 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly, then

simmer for 20 minutes. Preferably cool and put in

refrigerator overnight to develop flavors. Serve over

cooked whole wheat spaghetti. Serve with garlic bread and

salad. Sprinkle each plate of pasta with tamari or parmesan

cheese or add sour cream

178

Sauces/dips

179

Acorn Dip

1 pint sour cream

3/4 cup pre-cooked, cooled and strained aco; rns*

1 heaping tsp. dried sweet basil

1/2 cup dried onion flakes

Refrigerate overnight for full flavor.

180

Acorn Dip 2

1 quart sour cream

2 large cloves diced garlic

1 cup cooked, cooled, strained acorns

pinch of cumin

1 tsp. dried sweet basil

pinch paprika

1 tbs. fresh parsley

This is a big recipe for entertaining. Mix together: Blend

and serve with blue corn chips, celery, broccoli and

cauliflower sticks, they’ll love it!

181

Baked & Browned Eggplant Acorn Dip &

Spread

bake a whole eggplant at 400°about; 45 minutes. cut

and discard stem. blend in blender; with

3/4 cup cottage cheese,

1/2 cup mayonnaise,

1/4 cup leached and pre-cooked acorns*,

2 pinches marjoram,

pinch cayenne,

1/4 tsp garlic powder,

pinch black pepper,

1/4 tsp. salt and

1 cup diced celery tops

This is served as a sandwich spread or a dip for chips and

veggies & pita bread.

It’s ready!Keep refrigerated.

182

Refried Acorns

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cup leached acorns

1 medium-size onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

4 small chiles, seeds and ribs

1 removed, chopped

2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or

1 parsley leaves

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried sage, finely crumbled

1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano, finely

1 crumbled

2 tablespoon bragg's liquid aminos or

1 tamari soy sauce

This recipe is a wild alternative to Mexican refried beans,

with acorns replacing the beans. Serve it as a side dish with

other Mexican foods.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add all the ingredients except the Bragg's Liquid Aminos

and cook, stirring, for 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the Bragg's Liquid Aminos and serve.

Serves 6 to 8 From: Wildman Steve Brill <wildmansteve

183

Soups/stews

184

Acorn Mush

acorn

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Put approximately 2 cups

of processed acorn flour in a large bowl. Stir it with a

spoon to release the oil in the acorn. It is important to add

cold water to the acorn flour so that it pours easily into

boiling water- acorn flour will clump in the boiling water if

it is not mixed with water first. The cold water and acorn

mixture should be the consistency of thin gravy. Continue

to mix while pouring meal into boiling water. The acorn

flour will start to thicken as soon as it hits the boiling water

so stir constantly- a whisk works best. Turn down heat and

bring the mixture to a roiling boil. Cook the acorn for 20

minutes until you see bubbles and mix puckers on top and

starts to rise and water has evaporated.

Acorn mush is traditionally eaten with salty foods like fish,

seaweed or venison.

That is a very interesting method for cookery. I have one

question though. What type of acorns do you use? The

Acorns that are traditionally used here on my White

Mountain Apache Rez are pretty bitter. When we use acorn

it is not processed, we usually hand grind it ourselves.

Nephi Craig

185

Acorn Mush In A Shawee

recipe

The small gift basket is called 'Xilu.' The kind of flat tray I

make is used for cleaning or winnowing acorns, and it's

called 'Lawil.' Every November or December, we get the

acorns, hitting the tree to get the acorns out and then we

pick them up from ground. We put them in a basket and

dry for one or two days in the sun; I use a molino, an old

meat grinder, to grind my acorns. I put it through four

different times to get it really fine. I put the flour in my

brown basket.

I wash the flour in the sink, by putting material held with

clothespins. A long time ago people used leaves inside the

pine basket for washing the acorn. The acorns in San

Diego are more bitter than the ones in Baja. They have to

be washed 12 times. I wash them with hot water. The acorn

tastes good. There are large baskets for cooking acorn

mush. My cousin made one. When the acorn is washed, we

put it in the basket, then put a rock that is hot from the fire.

When the rock is red we put it in the basket. We get it with

a stick and wash the rock first.

When the acorn is ready for eating, the bowl basket we eat

it from is called 'Shawee.' You can eat it warm, or you can

eat it cold. You can put it on a tortilla with salt. A lot of

people use acorn mush like soup, but in San Diego we eat

it more like pie, like tofu.

186

Acorn Soup or Mush

acorns

California Indians commonly used the leached and ground

acorns as a base for soup or mush. To use as a soup base,

mix approximately two cups of the meal with 8 cups of

water. Add diced onions, potatoes, carrots, wild greens,

and seasonings to suit your taste. To use as a breakfast

mush, add milk and/or water to the acorn meal to your

desired thickness. Serve with whatever you'd add to

oatmeal: such things as raisins, sliced fruit, honey, butter,

and cream.

187

Acorn Stew

1 lb. stewing meat

1/2 c. finely ground acorn meal; (tannin removed)

salt and pepper to taste

Place meat in heavy pan and add water to cover. Cover

with lid and simmer until very tender. Remove from liquid

and cut meat into very fine pieces. Return meat to the

liquid. Stir in the acorn meal. Add salt and pepper as

desired. Heat until thickened and serve.

188

Acorn Stew

2 1/2 lb stew meat, cubed

1 1/2 quart water, or more as needed

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

1 salt and pepper to taste

1 2-3 pounds acorns (enough to make 1; cup of

acorn meal)

Place meat into a pot with water and onions. Bring to boil,

reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours or until meat is very

tender. Add more water if necessary. There should be

about 3 cups of broth when meat has been cooked. Add salt

and pepper to taste, and keep the stew warm. Shell the

acorns and grind them in food processor or blender into a

very fine meal. With a slotted spoon remove the meat and

onions from the pot and place into a glass bowl. Add the

acorn meal and blend well. Bring the broth to boil; pour it

over the meat mixture and blend well. Adjust seasoning by

adding more salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately

with Indian Fry Bread. Serves 6

189

Acorn Stew

2 1/2 lb stew meat, cubed

1 1/2 qt water, or more as needed

2 lg onions, coarsely chopped


3 lb acorns (enough to make

1 c acorn meal)












with Fry Bread.

190

Acorn Stew

3 lbs round steak elk or deer; cut ino bite size

3/4 cup acorn flour

1/4 Tsp Salt

Cook beef in about 1 quart of water. Let it simmer for

about 3 hours or until meat is well done. Salt to taste. Shell

acorns and grind them into very fine flour until you have

approximately 3/4 cup of flour. Strain the broth from the

meat (it will be used later). Shred the meat and, placing it

in a wooden bowl, mix it with the acorn flour. (Note: metal

utensils or bowl will discolor the flour) Pour hot broth over

the mixture and stir. It is now ready to serve in individual

bowls. Usually served with fry bread.

191

Acorn Stew

beef stew meat

ground acorn

flour

h20

salt

Mignonne made me think about a favorite Apache dish of

mine which is very simple. Traditionally, Apache Acorn

Stew has only five ingredients. There is a method for

maximizing the flavor potential of this simple dish. Using a

deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, heat cooking oil

(shortning, Olive Oil, Lard) to just below the smoking

point. Lightly dust the meat with flour and a small amount

of salt. Add to the smoking oil and sear, slightly move

from the heat (lower the heat) and allow the meat to

caramelize slowly, but DO NOT overcrowd the pan so that

the meat begins to steam in its own juices. This will

entirely defeat the purpose of dusting and proper meat

carmelization. You may need to carmalize the meat in

batches. Once the beef is a perfect dark, dark brown(Proper

Carmelization) 'deglaze' the pot with just enough water to

cover the meat and add two tablespoons of ground acorn.

Allow to simmer until meat is tender. Approx 45 min to an

hour. During this time you can prepare the simple

dumplings for the stew. Take a med size bowl add two

cups of flour and salt as well as enough water to produce a

semi-smooth dough. Roll into 1 1/2 inch strips, dust with

flour and set aside. When the meat is tender, add your

precut dumplings and allow to cook for approx. 20-25

minutes. Season to taste with extra Acorn Flour and salt.

This stew goes best with some nice fluffy flour American

Indian Tortillas. You know the kind Grandma used to

192

make when we were out of Lard or Shortening. Acorn

Stew and Flour Tortilllas are the perfect match.

NOTE: Acorn is quite bitter so use good judgment when

adding the acorn at the end. Acorn is 'an acquired taste'.

*Remember you can always add more, but you cant take

it out. This 'recipe' is based on ratio. Use your cooking

experience and best judgment when combining the

ingredients. Also, the Acorn in some Apache tribes is

meant to be the highlight of the dish making it quite bitter.

However, you can use the acorn as you would a

vinegar/acid, to accent and bring sharpness to your stew.

This is most likely the best route to take if you have never

had Apache Acorn Stew before. On the REZ the stew is

quite bitter, but the 'champ' flour tortillas balance the

bitterness. That is why the bread is so important in this

dish. Enjoy.

193

Acorn Stew Apache

3 lbs elk or deer round steak; cut into bite size pieces

3/4 cup acorn flour

1/4 tsp Salt










194

Acorn Stew Seminole

2 1/2 lb. stew meat, cubed

1 1/2 qt. water, or more as needed

2 lg. onions, coarsely chopped


2-3 lbs acorns (enough to make 1 cup meal)












with Fry Bread.

195

Acorn Veggie Soup

1 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 chopped carrots

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup uncooked barley

1 cup leached acorns*

2 tbs. dried sweet basil

1-1/2 quarts water

Simmer until vegetables are tender, and barley is cooked.

Season with tamari (soy sauce). Variations: Add garlic,

fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, eggplant

etc.

196

Acorn, Carrot & Dock Soup

1 handfull dock leaves


1 1/2 cups Water

2 pcs carrots; shredded

1 clove garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp sweet basil

1 tsp paprika

1 dash oil

Pick a handful of Dock leaves, (they’re a weed), or

substitute your favorite greens, steam and chop. Discard

Dock water. Add 1/8 cup leached acorns* with the

chopped Dock, in 1-1/2 cups water and 2 large shredded

carrots. Add 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon

sweet basil, paprika, and a dash of vegetable oil. Simmer

20 minutes. Salt to taste. Very delicious.

197

Apache Acorn Ravioli In Clear Broth

2 green anaheim chiles

1 tb unsalted butter

1 tb shelled and finely chopped acorns o

3 oz to 4 oz soft white goat -cheese

1 recipe basic egg ravioli -dough

2 ts kosher salt

1 qt water

clear broth

6 c chicken stock

1 scallion, green part only,-diagonal; ly sliced

1/2 ts azafran

Roast the chiles then peel, seed, devein and coarsely chop

them,

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat and

add the acorns. Saute 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add

the green chiles and saute another minute. Remove from

the heat, mix together with the goat cheese and set aside.

Prepare a stencil by cutting a design out of a piece of

cardboard. For the ravioli in the photograph, we cut a

stencil 5 inches in length, 3 inches in height, with 1-inch

steps.

Roll out the ravioli dough as thinly as possible. Fold the

dough in half, place the stencil over the dough and, with a

sharp knife, cut around it. Repeat this process 11 times to

make 24 identical pieces of dough.

Lay 12 cut out pieces of dough on a board and place about

1 tablespoon of the acorn filling in the center of each.

Moisten the outer edges of each piece of the dough. Place

the other 12 pieces on top, and press the edges together

198

with your fingers. If the edges are slightly uneven, trim

them. Set aside.

Add the salt to the water in a wide, large saucepan, and

bring to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 3

minutes, until tender and translucent around the edges.

Drain and set aside.

Bring the stock to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-

high heat. Add the scallions and azafran and simmer,

uncovered, over medium-low heat 5 minutes. Remove

from the heat and pour 1 cup of the broth into each bowl.

Add some ravioli and serve.

199

Apache Acorn Soup

2-1/2 -3 lbslbs. round steak sweet acorns

(enough to make 3/4 cups of acorn f; lour)

salt

PLEASE USE A PLASTIC BOWL/ OR WOODEN

ONLY...

CUT THE ROUND STEAK INTO SMALL BITE SIZE

PIECES & COOK IN ABOUT ONE QUART

WATER.LET IT SIMMER FOR ABOUT 3 HRS. OR

UNTIL MEAT IS WELL DONE.SALT TO

TASTE,SHELL THE SWEET ACORNS & GRIND

THEM INTO VERY FINE FLOUR UNTIL YOU HAVE

ABOUT 3/4 CUP FLOUR. STRAIN THE BROTH FROM

THE MEAT IT WILL BE USED LATER. SHRED THE

MEAT & PLACING IT IN A WOODEN OR PLASTIC

BOWL MIX IT WITH THE ACORN FLOUR

{{aluminum discolors the flour.}}POUR THE HOT

BROTH OVER THIS MIXTURE & STIR.IT IS NOW

READY TO SERVE IN INDIVIDUAL BOWLS.

**I USUALLY MAKE FRY BREAD TO GO WITH

THIS CAN ALSO MAKE ACORN MUFFINS OR A

BREAD TO GO WITH THIS...VERY TASTEY...

200

Apache Acorn Soup

1 (2 1/2 pound) beef roast

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup ground acorn meal

Peel the acorns and grind them. The outer part of the acorn

is not used. Cover beef with water and bring to boil in a

heavy pot. Simmer several hours until beef is very tender,

adding salt and pepper. Remove the beef, while letting the

pot continue to boil. Shred the beef, then mix it with the

acorn meal. Add this mixture to the broth and simmer

together until the broth bubbles creamy-white with yellow

flecks.

201

Apache Acorn Soup

3 lb stew beef

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup ground acorn meal

2 quart water

1 teaspoon salt

Cover beef with water and bring to boil in a heavy pot.

Simmer until done; add salt and pepper as meat cooks

tender. Remove beef and chop on a flat stone until split in

shreds. The meat broth continues to cook vigorously while

meat and acorn flour (meal) are mixed together. Apaches

stress that their food is always well done; no instant

cooking. Broth, meat and meal simmer together until the

broth bubbles creamy white with yellow flecks, pleasantly

acorn scented and flavored. Formatted for Meal Master by

Lori Fuller

202

Apache Acorn-Pinon Soup With Wild

Flowers

1 t. unsalted butter

1 c. pinons (pine nuts)

4 t. acorns, or unsalted pistachios;

shelled

6 t. chopped wild onions or leeks

9 c. chicken or rabbit stock

1/4 tsp.. salt

1/2 tsp.. black pepper

1-1/2 qt. half and half

snipped wild onions, mint sprigs;

and wild edible flowers

Traditionally, this recipe is prepared with the small, brown

acorns of the Emery oaks that are indigenous to the

Chiricahua Mountains in the southeastern part of Arizona.

The Apache tribes originally lived in this region before

they were relocated northeast to San Carlos. Melt the butter

in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté the pinons,

acorns, and onions 4 minutes, until the onions are

translucent and the nuts golden brown.

Add the stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce

the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is reduced

by half, about 20 minutes. Add the cream and reduce the

mixture again by half, to 6 cups.

Remove from the heat and blend in a blender until the

mixture is smooth. Push through a fine sieve; discard the

contents of the sieve. Garnish and serve.

203

Burning Tree Golden Acorn Soup

part A

1/4 cup roasted corn (parched); grind in blender

1/4 cup pine nuts; add to blender

1/2 cup sunflower seeds; add to blender

1/2 cup pepitos; add to blender

1 tbl acorn starch; add to blender

1 part B

5 gallon water

3/4 cup chicken soup base

1 lb non dairy creamer

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup dry onion flakes

1/4 cup garlic powder

1 tbl black pepper

2 tbl pepper flakes

1 tbl cayenne

1/3 cup menudo mix

1 lb Butter

corn starch to thicken

Part A Grind Dry corn in blender. Add water and grind

again until smooth. Grind remaining nuts and seeds in

blender until smooth and mix with corn.

Part B Make cream of chicken with water, chicken base

and other ingreadients except peanut butter, butter and nut

mix. Bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning if needed add nut

mixture and peanut butter. Vontinue at a simmer until all is

mixed then thicken with corn starch water slurry to desired

thickness. Simmer to cook stach.

204

Cornmeal And Acorn Mush

4 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup acorn meal, ground

1 cup cornmeal

Bring salted water to a boil and sprinkle the acorn meal

into the boiling water, stirring briskly with a wire or twig

whisk. Then add the cornmeal. Add just enough cornmeal

to make a thick, bubbling batch in which a wood spoon

will stand up fairly well. Place the saucepan in a larger

container holding two inches or more of boiling water.

(Use a double boiler, if you have one.) Simmer the mush

until quite thick, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to

keep it from lumping.

Cornmeal and acorn mush is very good for breakfast on a

cold morning. It can be served with sweetened milk and a

dab of wild fruit jam or homemade butter. But it is also

great as a main course lunch or dinner. You can also add

salsa or bacon bits and grated cheese on top to get great

variety. This mush is very filling and will stick to your

ribs.

I often make a double batch and pour the “extra” in a

greased bread pan. When cooled in the fridge overnight, it

becomes quite solid and can be sliced in half inch thick

slices, dipped in flour and fried in oil, first one side, then

turn and fry the other. Fried acorn and cornmeal mush is

one of our absolutely favorite camp (or at-home)

breakfasts. Serve it with butter, salt, and thick fruit jam or

maple syrup. Of course, David likes his with catsup.

205

Nativeway Apache Acorn Stew

3 lb round steak, cut into bite; sized pieces

1 sweet acorns (enough to make

3/4 cup acorn flour)

1 salt

*Beef, elk or venison










Classification: traditional Nation/Tribe: Apache

From: The Native Way Cookbook: The Cookbook Of The

Grandmothers At:

http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway "Visit the White

Buffalo Sites and the Native American Ring"

206

Nupa Acorn Soup Part 1

20 lbs black oak acorns - cleaned

water

cedar or redwood bows

Acorns are gathered in the fall, right now we are in the

peak of the season. Usually the first fall of acorns we

disregard. They are normally the wormy ones. Sometimes

we will gather these "Pehepes", and use them in our dance

regalia. These "Pehepes" are acorns that have been infested

with worm larve, and they make the acorns form looking

like hunchbacks. They make interesting necklaces and

there is a story about "Pehepes" and why we use them, but

that again is another chat...

My family and I have been known to gather tons of acorn.

In the past my Great Aunt Mary had a room in her house

where we would deposit all of the acorn we gathered. This

was a 10'x12' room, with a four foot board across the

doorway. This room was always full of acorn. As children

we used to fight for the right to jump into the acorn and stir

them up. Anyone bigger than a child would crack the hulls.

This had to be done twice a week so that moisture didn't

build up and that the acorn dried properly. Traditionally

our people stored acorn in 'Chukas', acorn graineries made

of cedar and California laurel. These are cylinder in shape

and raised above the ground on stakes about three feet.

Lacking a spare room for my acorn, I store mine in gunny

sacks and hang the filled bags from the rafters in my

garage. My sisters living on the rez, use the huge army

surplus bins my parents bought. They keep them covered

and stir them twice a week. No matter how you store your

acorn it is essential that you add a generous amount of

California laurel with the nuts. Laurel or bay leaf is a

207

natural insect repellent and keeps the bugs away from the

acorn.

We let the acorn dry or season at least for a year, this

assures that the nuts are well dried. We then crack and hull

the acorns. We then spread the acorn meats to allow any

additional drying. On the acorn is a red skin, the skin is

thicker in the crevices of the nut, it is very important that

all of this skin is removed. Otherwise when cooked it is

like trying to swallow the chewy part of popped corn.

When the nuts are dried this red skin has a tendency to

really cling to the nuts. If you sprinkle a little water on

them when they are dry it lifts the skin making it easier to

remove. We use an open twined winnowing tray in this

process of removing the husk skin.

Once the acorn is cleaned thoroughly and dry, we begin the

hard work. The acorn now needs to be pounded. It is not

ground. We do not have grinding rocks, we have pounding

rocks. We also have granite mortars and pestles. The

pestles are raised above the hole in the mortar rock and

allowed to slide through your hands into the acorn in the

mortar. Some folks use a 'hopper basket' which catches the

acorns as they hop up and allows them to roll back into the

mortar. The basket is a conical shape, like a funnel. Of

course this is a very time consuming process and you

develop wonderful arm muscles. But, let's face it folks, this

is 1998. Today for smaller batches you can use an electric

coffee grinder, a Veggiemeal, mill and juicer works

wonders for medium batches. For large batches like my

sister and I do, we use an electric flour mill. The acorn

flour should have the consistency of wheat flour mixed

with very fine corn meal.

Once you have your flour ground, you can begin your next

step. This process is called leaching. In this step you are

washing out the tannic acid in the flour. Tannic acid is

208

bitter to taste, if you can digest enough it is toxic. Only

cattle, pigs, deer and rodents are known to eat them raw.

Though in California there are documented cases where in

a heavy acorn fall cattle ate too much acorn and dropped

dead in the pasture.

Traditionally we would go to the nearest stream and find a

sandy area. Here we would form out a leaching bed and

spread out the acorn flour on top of the clean sand. We

would then form a channel bringing the water to the bed

and allowing a steady stream to flow over the acorn. Cedar

bows are used to allow the incoming water to flow evenly

over the flour. You would allow this to continue for at least

8-10 hours, depending on how much and how deep the

flour is, after 8 hours you would make a taste test to

determine if it was ready. Today we have a raised table

made of boards and chicken wire, which we cover with a

thick bed of fresh pine needles, and then a clean cotton

sheet. On top of this we spread the acorn flour and leach it

using a water hose placed on top of a spread of fresh cedar

bows. It still takes 8-10 hours. When the leaching process

is complete, the flour will no longer have a bitter taste, but

rather a slightly sweet taste. When it is ready we pick it up

off the leaching bed. It comes up like globs of wet clay.

Using the traditional method of a sand bed you would

gently wash off any sand with water. Because acorn is high

in oils not much adheres to it.

The leached acorn flour is then mixed with water, usually a

2-1 ratio for a thick soup or a 3-1 ratio for a thinner soup.

This is an approximate measure, as my sister and I mix the

flour and water with our hands and know what we are

looking for. My sister and I still cook acorn in the

traditional method, using baskets and hot rocks. The

baskets used for cooking are three rod coiled cooking

baskets. They are water tight. In order to use these baskets

for cooking they must be soaked in water overnight. This

209

allows the basket material to soak in the water and makes

the basket water tight. Before cooking acorn we take a

little of the leached flour and rub it into the weave of the

basket to assure no leakage. We then mix the leached acorn

flour with water in the basket. From: "Andre And Melana"

<kanawa@rocler From: Jim Weller Date: 02-08-02

210


continued

The morning we are going to cook the leached acorn we

build a large fire in the cooking fire pit. The fire is built

upon a stack of cooking rocks. They can be either basalt

rocks or soapstone any other type of rock will burst and

crumble. Whatever you choose to use, you always count

them before building your fire. Your fire is a clean fire,

built of clean wood. No use of petroleum products to start

your fire, and never, never throw trash of any sort into a

cooking fire. We use only oak or manzanita wood, as these

are hot burning woods and leave little ash. We keep this

fire burning hot for at least a couple of hours.

When we are ready to cook, the cook's helper will lift the

cooking rocks out of the fire one at a time, using large

sticks called 'pinita', they resemble oversized chop sticks,

made of young cedar or oak saplings. Each rock is dipped

into a vessel of water to wash off the ash, then a second

vessel to assure it's cleanliness. The rock is then placed on

the cooks waiting cooking paddle or stirring loop. The

cook then gently lowers the rock into the mixed acorn

flour, one at a time. It takes approximately four to six rocks

the size of an adult fist to bring a basket full of acorn soup

to a full rolling boil. The cook keeps the rocks in constant

motion. This assures that the basket is not scorched or

burned. This cooking process takes about 15-20 minutes.

The baskets used are about as large if not larger than a

large stock pot. This is a very efficient method of cooking.

When the acorn soup, or 'nupa' is done, the cook removes

the hot rocks from the soup. Sometimes the cook will drop

the rocks onto clean cedar bows and allow the acorn

adhered to it to bake, making what my kids call acorn

211

chips. Other times the cook dips her hand into clean water

and cleans off each rock as she takes it out of the soup then

drops it onto the earth to allow it to cool and bake clean

itself. This is how we cook acorn soup, or 'nupa'. The other

way we serve it is in little water dumplings or 'ulay'. For

this we cook the acorn into a very thick soup, when it is

done cooking we use a small basket and individually dip a

basketful of the thick acorn soup into very cold running

water. It immediately solidifies into like a gelatin

dumpling. Many elders prefer this older style of cooked

acorn. This is how my people, the Northern Sierra Mewuk

(Miwok) prepare acorn. Acorn is high in protein and

contains almost every essential vitamin. This we know

because we had to have it analyzed before the doctors at

Oak Knoll Naval hospital my grandmother was in prior to

her passing would allow her to have it.

Note: A little background on myself: Here in California I

am referred to as a Traditionalist, that is I still practice the

traditional ways and ceremonies of my people. I am a

basketweaver, I make coiled and twined Mewuk (Miwok)

baskets. I am a founding Board Member of the California

Indian Basketweavers Association, and served on the

Board for the last eight years. I am an artist, I work with

oils, acrylics, pastels, watercolors, pencil and pen. I make

jewelry, a view of my work can be seen in the May 1997

issue of Ornament Magazine in an article announcing the

opening of a Beadwork show at the American Indian

Contemporary Arts Gallery in San Francisco. For those of

you who are wondering what I look like, if you have a

copy of the Time/Life Series, Indians of America, in the

Indians of California book, you can see me, on page 54,

there is a photo of me cooking acorn.

Offered by Kimberly R. Stevenot (aka Billierose) Northern

Sierra Mewuk (Miwok) Tuolumne Rancheria, Tuolumne,

CA http://www.zianet.com/witchy/recipes/native/ From:

212

"Andre And Melana" <kanawa@rocler From: Jim Weller

Date: 02-08-02

213

Ohlone Acorn Mush

recipe

Hull several handfulls of acorns. Grind in mortar. Sift in

sifting basket. Now you have flour but it is too bitter to

eat.So- scoop out hole in sand of creek and line with fern

leaves. Put flour in hole and pour water over to leach out

tannin. Once leached, put in cooking basket and fill with

hot stones until boiling. Mush is now ready to eat. (It is

estimated that an indian family consumed 1000-2000

acorns per year.)

214

Ohlones Acorn Mush

Acorns

Not only have native peoples always eaten meat, they have

gone to considerable trouble and effort to cook their food.

Consider again the Ohlones: Acorns were a very

significant part of their diet. They were ground in a stone

mortar. The flour was then leached with water. This

removed the bitterness. After the leaching came the

cooking. A woman placed the flour and some water into

still another kind of basket--one so skillfully made that it

was completely watertight. Since she could not place the

basket directly onto the flames, she heated some round

stones in the fire. When a stone was hot, she removed it

from the fire with two sticks, dipped it quickly into some

water to wash off the ashes, and dropped it into the acorn

mush. She stirred constantly with a looped stick or wooden

paddle to keep the hot stone from burning a hole in the

basket. She then added more stones until the basket was

perhaps one quarter filled with stones, and and she kept

them all moving and rolling until--after only a few

minutes--the mush was boiling. In Bayshore villages that

were built on alluvial soil, stones had to be carried in form

far away; and good cooking stones--ones that would not

crack when heated--were highly valued.

When the mush was fully cooked, the woman served it,

sometimes in a watery form as a soup, often as a thick

porridge. If she wanted to make acorn bread, she boiled the

mush longer and then placed the batter into an earthen

oven or on top of a hot slab of rock. Acorn bread

(described as Òdeliciously rich and oilyÓ by early

explorers) was a favorite Ohlone food--a food to be taken

215

on trips or to be shared at the many feasts and festivals

throughout the year.9

We have dwelt at some length on the diet of the Ohlones

because no one will deny that they lived in profound

communion with nature. Their diet exemplifies that of

traditional peoples throughout the world.

216

Seminole Acorn Stew

2 1/2 lb. stew meat, cubed

1 1/2 qt. water, or more as needed

2 lg. onions, coarsely chopped


2-3 lbs acorns (enough to make 1 cup meal)












with Fry Bread.

217

Venison-Acorn Stew

2 lbs venison, cut up

1 cup finely ground acorn meal

Cover venison with water in port or basket; Add hot rocks

to simmer until meat almost falls apart. Remove meat from

broth and chop into fine pieces. Return to pot with liquid

and stir in acorn meal.

218

Wiwish Cahuillaacorn Mush

1 cup acorn flour drained but wet cold wa; ter

leached

1 cup water (some acorns need more some l; ess)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt (to taste )

1/4 cup sweetener honey or fruit juice conc; entrate

optional

Mix ingredients together and bring to a boil, or until

wiwish thickens.

219

Vegetables

220

Sauted Mushrooms & Acorns

2 cups fresh chopped mushrooms

1/3 cup leached, pre-cooked and strained ac; orns*

1 tbs. dried onions or 2 tbs. fresh diced; onion

garlic (optional)

Sauté this in olive oil or butter. Add a dash of soy sauce.

Variations: Add steamed veggies and put over rice and add

soy sauce. or: Spread on whole wheat tortillas, put 1

tablespoon of shredded cheese on top and microwave until

cheese melts. Top with alfalfa sprouts.

221

Index

About Acorns................8

Acorn............................7

Acorn & Egg Breakfast

.............................100

Acorn 2.........................9

Acorn and Cornmeal

Pancakes ...............110

Acorn Baking..............62

Acorn Bread... 63, 64, 65,

67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,

73

Acorn Bread (Modern) 74

Acorn Bread 3.............75

Acorn Bread 33...........76

Acorn Bread 5.............78

Acorn Bread Apache...79

Acorn Bread With Cattail

Flour .......................80

Acorn Brownies ........123

Acorn Burgers...........171

Acorn Casserole........143

Acorn Cheese Pies ....144

Acorn Cheesecake.....116

Acorn Chocolate Chip

Raisin Walnut Cookies

.............................113

Acorn Cinnamon

Pancakes ...............101

Acorn Cookies ..........114

Acorn Crunchies .........58

Acorn Dip .................179

Acorn Dip 2 ..............180

Acorn Enchiladas ......145

Acorn Flake ................10

Acorn Flour...........11, 12

Acorn Flour 2............. 13

Acorn Gathering &

Preparation ............. 14

Acorn Griddle Cakes .102

Acorn Griddle Cakes 2

..............................103

Acorn Hominy Cake..117

Acorn Information...... 16

Acorn Lasagna ..........146

Acorn Meal ................ 17

Acorn Meal Cakes.....118

Acorn Meal Or Flour .. 18

Acorn Milk................. 19

Acorn Muffins...154, 155

Acorn Muffins 1 ........157

Acorn Mush ..............184

Acorn Mush In A

Shawee ..................185

Acorn Notes ............... 20

Acorn Pan-Bread ........ 81

Acorn Pancakes 104, 105,

106

Acorn Pancakes I.......107

Acorn Pancakes II .....108

Acorn Pemmican: ......133

Acorn Pickles ............164

Acorn Pie ..................162

Acorn Pinon Soup With

Wild Flowers.......... 21

Acorn Pound Cake ....119

Acorn Pumpkin Bread 82

Acorn Salad Sandwich

..............................172

2

Acorn Shortbread......124

Acorn Shred................59

Acorn Slivers ..............60

Acorn Soda Biscuits....83

Acorn Soup or Mush .186

Acorn Spaghetti Sauce

.............................177

Acorn Spice Bread ......84

Acorn Spinach Burgers

.............................173

Acorn Stew...... 187, 188,

189, 190, 191

Acorn Stew Apache ..193

Acorn Stew Seminole194

Acorn Substtutes .........22

Acorn Tips ..................23

Acorn Tofu Breakfast109

Acorn Tortillas............85

Acorn Veggie Loaf ...147

Acorn Veggie Soup...195

Acorn Yeast Bread......86

Acorn, Carrot & Dock

Soup......................196

Acorn/Pemmican

Preparation............134

Acorn-Corn Bread.......87

Acorns .................. 25, 27

Acorns & Pasta .........167

Acorns & Rice ..........148

Acorns A ....................28

Acorns B.....................29

Acorns With Black Bean

Broth & Pasta........149

Acorns, Acorns, Acorns

...............................30

Apache Acorn Cakes:120

Apache Acorn Ravioli In

Clear Broth............197

Apache Acorn Soup..199,

200, 201

Apache Acorn-Pinon

Soup With Wild

Flowers .................202

Appetizers .................. 57

Baked & Browned

Eggplant Acorn Dip &

Spread ...................181

Beets & Acorns .........174

Bread Acorn .............. 88

Breads ........................ 61

Breakfast .................... 99

Burning Tree Acorn

Bread...................... 89

Burning Tree Golden

Acorn Soup ...........203

Cake/cookie ..............112

Cakes ........................115

California Acorns ....... 33

Chicken With Jalapeño

Acorn Sauce ..........150

Chris Nyerge's Acorn

Bread Recipes......... 90


Burgers..................175


Pickles...................165


Recipes................... 34

Christopher's Acorn

Bread...................... 91

Collecting And Storing

Acorns And Meal ... 36

3

Contemporary Acorn

Bread ......................92

Cornmeal And Acorn

Mush.....................204

Desserts ....................122

Dressing....................130

Elk Stew With Acorn

Dumplings ............151

Game ........................132

Grandma's Acorn Griddle

Bread With Syrup .111

Harvest And Eat The

Acorns ....................40

Harvesting The Wild

Acorns ....................41

Honey Acorn Bread ....93

How To Use Acorn Meal

...............................49

How To Use Acorns For

Food And Bread......50

Kidney Bean Acorn

Salad .....................168

Korean Acorn Noodle

Salad .....................169

Main Dish .................142

Mixed Grain Acorn

Bread ......................94

Modern Pemmican: ...141

Muffins .....................153

Multi-Grain Bread With

Acorn Meal: ............96

Nativeway Apache Acorn

Stew......................205


.............................206


.............................210

Ohlone Acorn Mush ..213

Ohlones Acorn Mush.214

Peanut And Acorn

Yogurt Dessert ......125

Persimmon Acorn

Cinnamon Rolls.....126

Pies ...........................161

Preparation Of Ground

Acorn Meal ............ 53

Processing Acorns ...... 54

Pumpkin Acorn Pudding

..............................128

Quick Acorn Cheesecake

..............................121

Refried Acorns ..........182

Relishes/preserves .....163

Russ Cohen's Acorn

Muffins .................158

Salads........................166

Sandwiches ...............170

Sauce.........................176

Sauces/dips................178

Sauted Mushrooms &

Acorns...................220

Savory Acorn Muffins

..............................160

Seminole Acorn Stew216

Soups/stews...............183

Split Pea Acorn Dinner

..............................152

Tom & Judy Brown's

Famous Acorn Yeast

Bread...................... 98

Turning Acorns Into

Meal ....................... 55

Vegetables.................219

Venison-Acorn Stew .217

4

White Sage Acorn

Dressing................131

Wiwish Cahuillaacorn

Mush .....................218

Documents

Eating Acorns