Nuts

Acorn

Acorns are the nuts of oak trees (Quercus spp.), long harvested as a calorie staple across temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere rather than as a buttery cocktail snack. Compared with almonds or walnuts they are unusually starchy, with moderate oil and a firm, grainy meat that softens once dried and milled. Most culinary oaks carry bitter tannins, so food traditions leach cracked meats in repeated changes of cold or warm water until the liquor runs clear and the taste turns mild and earthy. After leaching, cooks dry the meats and grind them into meal or flour for breads, porridges, pinole-style cakes, and Korean dotorimuk jelly. White-oak group nuts often need less leaching than red-oak types, which can stay astringent for days if rushed. Good food acorns are heavy for their size, free of weevil holes, and free of mouldy or paint-like smells once shelled. Poor lots rattle hollow, show insect dust, or taste harsh even after a full leach. Dried meal and flour keep far better than damp fresh meats; store cool, dry, and sealed. Label as a specialty wild food where tree-nut rules are unclear, and never treat untested raw acorns as a mild trail mix stand-in.