Acorns: The Grain That Grows on Trees

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Granted, acorn production does have its, problems. Among them re the variable time (anywhere from 3 to 20 years) before a tree will bear, the competition with forest creatures for the harvest (as well as actual production difficulties in procuring the harvest), weevil and fungal damage to the crop, the need for leaching out the bitter tannin in some acorn varieties, and the unusual flavor—some folks describe it as rather bland—and dark color of the flour. In other words, don't go out and establish a plantation of oaks and expect to make a living solely from the acorn harvests! However, in light of the many admirable qualities of the oak, it's clearly time we gave the acorn its due consideration both as a source of livestock fodder and as a food for human consumption.

ACORNS FOR EATING

There are at least 50 species of deciduous or evergreen oak trees native to this country. And because the oaks hybridize readily in nature, new species are continually being discovered. Conventionally, oaks have been divided into two subgroups: the white oaks and the black, or red, oaks. White oak acorns mature in one year, have a smooth inner cup surface, and are generally sweeter than the acorns of the black oaks ...while the black oak acorns take two years to mature, have hairy inner cap surfaces, and taste bitter. However, these characteristics are somewhat arbitrary and vary greatly among the many hybrid forms, so for the purposes of this discussion, I've broken the species down into sweet and bitter acorns (see the accompanying guide for a sampling of species).

Many types of oak have acorns that are perfectly edible to their raw, just-harvested state. In particular, I've gathered sweet acorns from the gambel oak (Q. gambelii ), the mongolian oak (Q. mongolica), and the huckleberry oak (Q. vaccinhfolia) ...and other foragers have reported similar sweetness for the chinquapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii ), the white oak (Q. alba), the swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii ), the ballota oak (Q. ilex var. rotundifolia), and the emory oak (Q. emoryi ). Undoubtedly, there are other equally tasty varieties that deserve further investigation.

In addition to these sweet species, there's hope for finding sweet individuals among the more bitter, tannin-containing types, since even trees of the same species can vary considerably in the flavor of their nuts. (I've eaten supposedly bitter acorns that had a flavor similar to that of cashews.)

F ROM THE FORESTTO THE FRYING PAN

Since some species of oaks grow in virtually every part of the U.S., you shouldn't have much trouble finding a suitable acorn hunting ground. Sample the bounty from several oaks to determine your best local tree, and then begin gathering the goods in earnest. Pick only freshly fallen acorns, and discard any kernels with weevils. (In fact, if weevil or rodent competition is particularly fierce in your area, you might want to harvest the acorns directly from the tree. Ripe nuts will have a characteristic blush and should pull from the branches easily.)

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