Edible Acorns

Part to eat: Acorn nuts

When to Gather: Fall

Where to Gather: North Florida has a high concentration of Oak trees. While Bay County is struggling with acorn production after Hurricane Michael, many surrounding counties were not effected. Many times, when stumbling on one Oak tree, you will have stumbled upon many.

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Home to twenty-four species of oak trees in Florida, fall brings an abundance of opportunity to collect acorns. North Florida is especially a good location for collecting and gathering acorns due to the number and diversity of oak trees around.

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Types of Oaks

Red Oaks

These oaks contain prickly tips on their leaves and bear acorns every other year.

- Shumard Oak
- Laurel Oak
- Turkey Oak
- Southern Red Oak
- Water Oak
- Myrtle Oak
- Black Oak

White Oaks

These oaks contain mostly rounded tips on their leaves and bear acorns every year.

- Live Oak
- Sand Live Oak
- White Oak
- Swamp Chestnut Oak
- Post Oak
- Overcup Oak
- Chinkapin Oak
- Chapman Oak
- Bluff Oak
- Bluejack Oak
- Blackjack Oak

Preparation

While some acorns are sweet enough to eat without any special preparation, it is generally recommended to double boil the acorns to remove the tannins within the acorns that can cause them to be bitter.

- Boil for a few minutes with a enough water to cover the acorns. Discard any acorns that float. Drain and repeat once again.

- Drain again and lay on a baking sheet. Bake at 175 for about 15 minutes or until dried through completely.

- Once dry, crack the thin shells. This can be done with a nutcracker or laying the flat side down and lightly tapping with a hammer to crack open. There should be cream to orange colored meat(nut) inside.

- Discard any dark or wormy acorns at any point throughout the process.

- The meat can then be ground into a course meal or sifted and reground into a flour.

Recipes

1. Acorn Flour Cake
   https://honest-food.net/acorn-cake-and-acorns-around-the-world/

2. Acorn Bread
   https://www.food.com/recipe/acorn-bread-71702

3. Site linking to regional acorn recipes and other ways for preparing acorns than mentioned above.
   https://practicalselfreliance.com/acorn-recipes/