# Acorns are pretty good... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062 "2007-10-17T18:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/1 "2007-10-17T18:44:37Z")
For as long as I can remember I have been told that acorns are horribly bitter, that American Indians would boil them in multiple changes of water to remove the tannins before grinding them into flour or whatever they did with them. Today I learned that is simply not true. I have a very large white oak in my front yard that is producing acorns for the first time since we lived here. I picked up an acorn and just squeezed it between my fingers and the husk cracked right off, easier than cracking a peanut. I peeled off the “skin” for lack of a better term and was left with a lovely cream-colored nut. Since I am of a scientific bend, I decided to see just how dreadfully bitter these things were and took just a tiny nibble, it was not bitter at all! It was actually quite tasty, a little like a cross between a filbert and a brazil nut. I bet they would be even better roasted. So there you have it, go out and try an acorn, you might be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/2 "2007-10-17T19:11:22Z")
Well I’ll be damned. I thought acorns were poisonous to humans. I have no idea who told me that, but I believed it till this day. I just googled it (“trust but verify”, and all that), and I see that lots of people eat them. My horizon has been broadened. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/3 "2007-10-17T19:16:34Z")
Different species of oak have different levels of tannins in the acorns. There are also different levels in individuals. Good for you for having a good tasting acorn sorce right in your own yard. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/4 "2007-10-17T19:16:38Z")
All those years as a starving undergrad living under a few immense white oaks… damn! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/5 "2007-10-17T19:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] Well I’ll be damned. I thought acorns were poisonous to humans. [/QUOTE] They are - but fatality generally occurs 24 hours after ingestion - most often while sleeping as lying prone allows the toxins to flow to the brain. So my suggestion, **August West** , is don’t go to sleep for the next week or so - just as a precaution. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/6 "2007-10-17T19:32:30Z")
Yet another reason why squirrels are superior to humans. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/7 "2007-10-17T19:36:28Z")
Yikes! It’s a damned good thing I didn’t take a nap today! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/8 "2007-10-17T21:08:10Z")
Has it been a particularly bountiful year for acorns? I have a front yard full of them. A few weeks back I would hear them hit the roof and bounce down and once one of them even hit me in the head as I was walking in from the car. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/9 "2007-10-17T22:25:51Z")
Apparently, yes, the acorns of some ‘white’ oaks are quite edible raw and fresh, or roasted like chestnuts. It’s the ‘red’ oak acorns that can’t be eaten without preparation. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/10 "2007-10-17T22:44:47Z")
I read somewhere that an easy way to leach acorns is to grind them up and put them in something like a pantyhose and leave it in your toilet tank for a couple of days. Assuming you don’t have a bleach thing. I used to grind up acorns while at camp and leave it out for the squirrels. The last few years I went there never were enough acorns. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/11 "2007-10-17T22:53:58Z")
Koreans have an acorn jelly dish that I think is delicious. It has a very subtle flavor, and it took me a while to “get” it, but after I did it became one of my favorite side-dishes. Here it is: [Doc-Tori-Mook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotorimuk). ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/12 "2007-10-18T03:23:26Z")
I just read a book…“Parable of the Sower” that is a dystopian novel where society falls apart and they use acorns to make flour. I have no clue if that is based in reality. Evidently, when society goes to shit, so does our ability to get grain. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/13 "2007-10-18T08:58:22Z")
Wikipedia on [acorns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn): > [@](#): > > Acorns also contain bitter tannins, the amount varying with the species. Since tannins, which are plant polyphenols, interfere with an animal’s ability to metabolize protein, creatures must adapt in different ways to utilize the nutritional value that acorns contain. Animals may preferentially select acorns that contain fewer tannins. Creatures that cache acorns, such as jays and squirrels, may wait to consume some of these acorns until sufficient groundwater has percolated through them to leach the tannins out. Other animals buffer their acorn diet with other foods. Many insects, birds, and mammals metabolize tannins with fewer ill-effects than humans. Several indigenous human cultures have devised traditional acorn-leaching methods that involved tools and that were traditionally passed on to their children by word of mouth. > > Species of acorn that contain large amounts of tannins are very bitter, astringent, and potentially irritating if eaten raw. This is particularly true of the acorns of red oaks. The acorns of white oaks, being much lower in tannins, are nutty in flavor, which is enhanced if the acorns are given a light roast before grinding. Tannins can be removed by soaking chopped acorns in several changes of water, until water no longer turns brown. (Boiling unleached acorns may actually cause the tannins to be unleachable.) Being rich in fat, acorn flour can spoil or get moldy easily and must be carefully stored. Acorns are also sometimes prepared as a massage oil. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/14 "2007-10-18T11:32:47Z")
Yes,the flour makes for tasty pancakes though I do use some cornmeal as well. OP,will you attempt the mashing and making of beer? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/15 "2007-10-18T11:59:57Z")
You can eat acorns? Really? I have a bunch of oak trees don’t know which kind in the front of my house. My kids like to pelt each other with nuts while waiting for the daily neighborhood ride to school. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/16 "2007-10-18T13:42:58Z")
[QUOTE=sturmhauke] Wikipedia on [acorns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn): …Creatures that cache acorns, such as jays and squirrels, may wait to consume some of these acorns until sufficient groundwater has percolated through them to leach the tannins out… [/QUOTE] Who knew they were so smart? The first squirrel to figure this out must have been considered a god to the rest of squirreldom. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/17 "2007-10-18T13:52:26Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] Who knew they were so smart? The first squirrel to figure this out must have been considered a god to the rest of squirreldom. [/QUOTE] He was, until that other squirrel figured out the faster way of grinding them up, putting them in pantyhose and leaving it in his toilet tank. Squirrels are all about instant gratification. And pantyhose. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/18 "2007-10-18T16:16:50Z")
Acorn Beer! By golly you might be onto something there! ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/19 "2007-10-18T16:53:34Z")
It’s funny that the acorn is not more widely eaten. You would even think that someone would have gone to the effort of breeding an improved variety of oak, with less tannin. It’s strange to think we’re surrounded with food sources that we never touch, for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062/20 "2007-10-18T18:50:01Z")
Breeding oak trees has never been very practical, because they take too long to mature. You cross tree A with tree B, and then wait twenty to fifty years to get acorns. And if the acorns do turn out to be good, you’ll still have trouble because oaks are very difficult to propagate from cuttings. You’ve got a treasure there, August. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acorns-are-pretty-good/423062.md?page=2)