Hacker News Reader

Comment by JohnJamesRambo | Hacker News Reader

How did they remove the tannins? The article is light on that info. Anyone that has ever bitten into an acorn knows that is not a small problem.

View on HN

I've done this but it's quite a bit of effort. After removing their shells, grind the acorns into a flour, then cover with water. Each day for a week, drain off the water and add fresh water. At the end of the week, the water should be clear. Dry the acorn flour in the sun.

You can use the flour to make dotorimuk (acorn jelly): add to water, boil until it thickens, pour into dish, let it cool.

I have made acorn bread. You just grind them up the rinse them under water with a cloth for some time until it is not bitter anymore. Also, there are some varieties of acorns that have very low tannin, to the point that you don't even have to rinse them I believe.

If you're interested in wild harvesting (particularly in the west coast) I'd suggest following Pascal Baudar. He's like a walking encyclopedia. His latest post is coincidentally on acorn harvesting and references the processing: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGKrQpgpPL0/?igshid=3l7xo1q06yaz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiiwish

1. Crack open the shell and pull out the inner part of the acorn. 2. Mash with mortar and pestle until it has a flour-like consistency. 3. Soak several times with water to leach out the tannins.

From the article:

"The main idea was that oak nuts (preferably those from Turkey oaks, Quercus cerris) were to be treated in order to deprive them of tannins, and were parboiled in meat broth, or salted water."

Looks like boiling/soaking in water will remove tannins

Sometimes is not necessary. Some trees mutated to produce sweet acorns. Is a local delicacy that can be found sometimes in the south of Spain and Portugal. You can expect a flavour similar to chestnuts

Reply on news.ycombinator.com