Oak Tree I.D. Site

About the best i've seen !

Comparison of oak features

 

I think you can eat all acorns. I want to try cooking them & making pancakes with them.

 

Are acorns edible?

 

Yes---but, you have to rid them of the tannic acid. Here is how:
How to Collect, Process and Store Acorns and Acorn Flour | Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

 

I have a pot of acorns in the fridge right now that I just finished leaching the acid out of. They're Chestnut Oak; really large acorns, but a surprising amount of tannic acid. This is the first year that I have worked with Chestnut Oaks. In the past, I have used White Oak, and assumed that the larger the acorn, the less tannic acid one had to deal with. That was certainly the case with White Oak vs. most in the Red Oak family. I assumed Chestnut Oak would be similarly lacking in acid, but not so. I had to bring these to a boil six times, changing the water each time, before the water came off anywhere close to clear.

I haven't tried any fancy cusine with acorns yet, but for the past couple of years I've collected and processed them, mainly to show my son some of the uses to which acorns can be put. I try to introduce him to as many wild foods as possible. In past years, we've roasted acorns, and added oil, salt, and soul seasoning. They were more than edible. Then we dark roasted a bunch, and made "coffee" out of them. Calling it coffee might be stretching it a bit, but it was certainly drinkable, and with a bit of sugar and milk added, it was fairly tasty.

This year, we plan to grind some down for flour. We'll see how that goes. My little one is wanting to make "Acorn Soup," but that really doesn't sound too appealing. Maybe with the right additional ingredients, we can turn it into something.

 

You might add acorns to venison stew, and make 'em happy. I feed them to deer, in place of more expensive corn. I may change that practice. i have a neighbor who loves Chestnuts, and thinks Buckeyes are really Chestnuts. As I understand it, the Buckeyes are mildly poisonous, and will make him sick. But he will not listen. A word to the wise about eating anything from the wild, make sure of your identifications.