How to Cook Acorns

Image: Dakota/Wikimedia Commons

Recently I stumbled upon a recipe on how to cook acorns while perusing the internet. This past weekend I decided to give cooking these abundant and free nuts a try. They actually came out pretty good so I thought I’d pass along the recipe to you.

Ingredients

Acorns

Salt

Tap Water

Supplies

Bucket for Gathering Acorns

2 Stock Pots

Colander

1 Cookie Sheet

Instructions for Cooking Acorns

1. Rinse the acorns so they are clean

2. Fill the sink with cold tap water and let acorns soak for 1 hour

3. Pick and discard any acorns that float in tap water - floaters may contain worms

4. Shell acorns (I used lobster crackers and a pick)

5. Fill 2 stock pots with tap water, about 3/4 of the way

6. Bring 1 pot to a boil, dump in acorns, and bring second pot to boil

7. Let acorns boil until water turns brown, strain and transfer to second pot of boiling water. In the beginning, it takes about 15 - 20 minutes for the boiling acorns to turn the water brown. Acorns contain tannins making the nuts bitter which is why they need to be boiled. Repeat the boiling, straining and transferring process until the tap water remains clear. When you think all the tannins have been boiled from the acorns, let one cool and taste it. If it’s still bitter, continue the boiling process. (This took me a couple of hour to do)

8. Pat dry and bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Let cool, salt to taste

I thought this was a fun recipe to try. Remember, boiling the acorns before cooking them is absolutely necessary to remove their bitterness. I tried a raw one, and let me tell you, it tasted like chewing a couple of aspirin. After they’re toasted, they make a pretty tasty snack. Try adding them to cookies, muffins or salads for an extra special treat.

Have any ideas for adding flavor to cooked acorns besides using salt? Let me know below, I just may try your idea and report back here on how tasty (or not) it was.

Additional Recipes

Zucchini Pickles