make acorn flour

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how to...

HOT OR COLD LEACHED

What does finished acorn flour taste like? It’s sweet and nutty, reminiscent of chestnuts and sweet potatoes.

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You can’t just eat acorns straight off the tree or ground. First, you have to remove the bitter tannins to make them edible via either a cold or hot leaching process.

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OPTION 1. COLD water leaching

COLD leaching acorns uses cold water to remove the tannins.

Pros: It results in a lighter colored, better tasting, more nutritious acorn flour that’s a little easier to bake with. Cons: Cold leaching takes a looong time, usually 2+ weeks.

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OPTION 2. HOT water leaching

HOT leaching acorns uses boiling hot water on your stovetop to remove the tannins.

Pros: It’s relatively fast - you can have the tannins removed from your acorns in 2-3 hours. Cons: Hot leaching produces a darker flour with more of the flavor and nutrition removed.

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WHAT'S NEEDED

- 1+ gallon of fresh acorns. - Cooking sheets, old screens, or a dehydrator for drying acorns. - Tool to crack acorns (We use a Davebilt #43 Nutcracker, but other alt options given in the full blog post.) - Tool to grind acorns (we detail in post) - A sifter or pasta strainer.

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Step 1. Forage

Find at least one gallon of recently fallen LARGE acorns (small marble-sized acorns aren’t worth the time and effort to process)

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Step 2. Crack

Crack the acorns using a Davebilt nutcracker, hammer, or other tool. Discard any acorns that appear rotten or bug-infested.

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Step 3. Dry

You’re trying to dry everything out, which will cause the acorn nutmeat to shrink, and their shells and skins to separate from the meat with minimal human effort required. Pictured: acorns after drying deskinned (L) and with skin (R).

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Step 3. Dry

If you have a dehydrator: Dry your acorns, shells, skins, and all. If you don’t have a dehydrator: lay them outside on cookie sheets on a sunny day or inside under a ceiling fan.

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Step 4. Separate skin

By hand, pull out the nutmeat and compost the acorn skin (testa) and shells. Pictured: dried skinned acorns ready to be leached.

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Step 5. Leaching Method #1

COLD LEACHING: Place acorns + fresh cold water into large food-grade container (we use glass). Min 2x per day, stir, strain, then add fresh cold water. Repeat. Speed hack: once acorns have softened, put them in food processor then return them to cold leaching process, straining them through cheese cloth after each cycle. Once they’re no longer bitter, they’re done.

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Step 5. Leaching Method #2

HOT LEACHING: Add acorn nut meat to large pot & fill with water. Bring water to low boil & maintain for ~ 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Strain & repeat process, taking small taste of acorns after each straining. Our white oak acorns usually take 5-6 cycles to flush the tannins, but each oak variety is different. Continue until your acorns no longer taste bitter!

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Step 6. Mash, puree, and dry

Mash/puree your leached acorns. Use either a potato masher or a good food processor (if using a processor, you’ll probably need to add some water back in to get a good blend).

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Step 6. Mash, puree, and dry

Spoon acorn puree onto lined dehydrator sheets or cookie sheets. Dry in dehydrator, inside under fan, or outside on warm sunny day.

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Step 7. Grind

Grind dried, leached acorn puree into flour using either a grain mill or food processor. If food processor, you may need to sift flour to remove larger acorn chunks, then regrind.

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Step 8. Store or use!

Acorn flour stores in ziplock bags in a fridge or freezer for a year or more or at room temp for many months. Now you’re ready to start making acorn recipes!

Hot-brewed yaupon holly & roasted acorn flour. Yum! Better than coffee? Maybe! Click link below to see recipe!

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Acorn flour crepe with wild persimmon filling. Epitome of fall! chef's kiss Click link below to see recipe!

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Acorn flour & American persimmon cookies (gluten free). Rich, nutty, and even healthy (shhh... don't tell!) Click link below to see recipe!

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Check out the full process with helpful tips and tricks at the link below!