With moving to our own property and bulding the house this year, I have not been able to do as much foraging as I would like. However I have been spending a lot fo time drying foods for the Winter. Despite the hectic life we have had this Summer, I have been able to venture out and discover some cool trees on the property and recently discovered an over abundance of Black Walnut Tree. I have managed to locate 6 so far along the branch. I picked up about a bushel or so just from two trees and there was plenty still on the trees. I should have plenty of these wonderful tasty nuts for the Winter.

There are several ways in which one can de-hull these nuts and store them for the Winter. I always pick the walnuts up from the ground as soon as I can after they fall from the tree. I never pick the nuts from the tree. Nature knows when they are ready and when they release themselves and fall to teh ground the beginning of Autumn…they are ready.

After picking up the nuts in their hull, I take them to the driveway. There I toss them out so cars can run over them for a day or so. When they are black and the hulls are loosened from the nut, I adorn lovely platic gloves and begin removing the hull from the nut. I just throw them all in a bucket and they head for the bathing. I wash the nuts, clean of any wormy things and debris. After this, you should lay the nuts out to dry in the sun. Make sure they dry thoroughly before storing for Winter.

Place the nuts in a basket or container with small holes for air circulation. Store in a cool, dry place and they will last for up to one year. You can crack the nuts and store the meat in jars or you can put them in bags and freeze them. For those of us without electrcity, storing whole in the root cellar is perfect. I will post some recipes later in the recipe section for black walnuts.

Pics from this year….

Today we went to Gee Creek Wilderness Area and did a little foraging. With it being the end of Winter, there was not too much to find, but we did luck up on a few things. I know exactly where to go from now on if I need a close place for Partridgeberries. They were everywhere near the creek and I managed to pick quite a few and got them all home safely…thanks to Chris’ pocket! I will upload more pics tomorrow when I have access to high speed. We also got some polypores, wild ginger, mountain mint and Sweetgum Balls. I will add pics and details about them tomorrow. I am working on an article on foraging as well.

Here is a pic that Chris took this morning as I was picking partridgeberries.

The leaves of the Sassafras Tree can be dried and made into a powder that is a good thickener for soups and stews, it gives a very good flavor when cooking with it.

Also you can use the roots of saplings (I generally use about 5 or six small pieces), cut them from the green stem, wash the dirt off and place them in water. Boil this until the water turns slightly reddish in color. If you prefer a stronger tea, boil it longer. You may add sugar or honey to this tea if you desire and it can be serves hot or cold. This is a refreshing tea and  one that was once well loved here in the South.

I remember the first time I ever prepared acorn flour. It was not the best, but was edible. I was on top of Starr Mountain on a backpacking trip and decided to try something I had read about in a book long ago. So I gather the acorns and leach them out in Bullet Creek. My first mistake was not leaching them out as long as I should, which made my flour a bit bitter. After several tries over several days, I was able to develop of fine tasting and filling “pancake” that I topped with fresh raw honey.

Gather acorns and the process of turning them into a flour, and later a food source, is something that can connect one to the Earth in amazing spiritual ways. Not only do you become firmly connected to the Mighty Oak, you are connecting with the amazing aspects of Nature…and many times your ancestors as well. I find myself getting that overwhelming desire when the leaves begin to turn and I know the acorns will be dropping soon. Every aspect of harvesting the acorn can become spiritual. I never take the acorns from the ground without first thanking the tree for the gifts and nourishment it has provided. I never take all of the acorns, our brothers and sisters in Nature need that nourishment as well. It is best, I have found, to pick and choose which acorns you take with you. Choose the heaviest, healthy acorns. Look for holes or slits and leave those for our animal friends.

Sometimes I prepare the acorns as soon as I return home. If there is a situation that prevents me from doing this, I will dry the acorns and store them for future use. Acorns can turn bad by mildewing and you really have to dry them if you plant o use them in the future. Shelling the acorns can be a pain sometimes. With experience I have found the best way is to turn the acorn up on the end, on hard surface and tap the other end with a stone or hammer. This will cause the shell to split and you can easily peel it open at this point. Remove the “nut” and peel off any skin remaining. This skin is extremely bitter, so you will want to remove as much of it as possible prior to preparation.

After this you need to leach out the tannic acid in the acorn. Taste one at this point and you will totally understand why. There are several ways to do this. You can place the corns in a cloth, tie it tightly and put it in a cold, clear running creek or branch for about 8-12 hours. You can taste one of the acorns to see if it needs to remain in the water a bit longer. Another way is to boil out the tannic acid. To do this you will need to start water boiling. It is important that you add the acorns to BOILING water as this helps remove the tannic acid and doing otherwise can make you flour very bitter. I boil my acorns for about 10 – 15 minutes per change of water. You should change the water, bring clean water to a boil, add the acorns again and boil for another 10 minutes. Do this at least three times and some acorns may take up to 7-8 times. Again, taste the acorn and you will know when it is ready.

Now you are ready to make flour or use the acorns as you desire. You can eat them as is at this point. You can roast them and eat them like any other nut. You can chop them and add them to stews and soups for great texture and flavor. Or you can make a flour out of them. Some people will dry them and pound the dry acorn into flour. You CAN grind them while wet and make flour as well. If you plan to use this in the future, you will need to dry the flour prior to storing it. If not, you can use the flour damp as is. The flour is a pretty dark brown color and has a wonderful Earthy taste. You can use this flour to make pancakes, muffins, breads, etc. I am including two recipes, but if you would like more, feel free to contact me.

Cranberry/Hickory Nut Acorn Muffins

2 cups acorn flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup chopped hickory nuts
2 cups cranberries
½ cup spicebush blossoms or dried clover blossoms

Mix all dry ingredients together, stir in wet ingredients. Add the Berries, blossoms and nuts. Pour into an oiled muffin pan and cook at 400F for about 15 minutes. You can make muffin tins with aluminum foil and oil them, pour in batter and place in your dutch oven to bake over an open fire.

Acorn Pancakes

1 cup acorn flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
2 cups water
hickory nuts (optional)
chopped persimmon (optional)

Mix all ingredients and cook as you would pancakes. These are absolutely delicious when drizzled with raw honey, mashed persimmons, fresh blueberries or maple syrup!

When preparing your food from items you gather by hand in Nature, it not only gives you healthier nourishment, it gifts you with that special connection we need with all things sacred.

More of my acorn recipes below:

Acorn Fritters