To make one gallon of tea:

Get about 4-5 average size roots, preferrably young roots, wash in cold water, peal and cut into pieces. Boil in one gallon of water for about 20 minutes. Strain, sweeten with sugar or honey and serve hot or cold.

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.

Pine:

Pine bark makes a great bandaid! Use the fresh inner bark and tie it around the wound. If you are bleeding, wash the wound with comfrey (as stated in an above post), cover it with sphagnum moss and then the inner bark of pine as the outer bandage.

Poison Ivy or skin rashes: Boil the twigs from a Black Birch Tree. Make a strong tea out of it and then let it cool. Apply it to the affected area, repeating several times after it dries. The young leaves used fresh and the bark of the twigs are the main medicinal parts of a black birch. Drying the leaves for later use does not work unfortunately. I have only known this tree to work when the parts are used fresh.

Sedative: Make a strong tea from the leaves and twigs and drink when stressed and needing sleep. It induces a good night’s sleep and calms the nerves.

Pain: Boil the bark and twigs to release the oil and apply this to sore muscles and strains to relieve pain.

You can chew the hardened sap from a wound in a Sweetum Tree as a gum for fresh breath. As a child, chewing gum was not something we got except on holidays like Christmas and our birthday. We would always grab a “glob” of sap from the Sweetgum Tree as we were on the way to the barn to milk the cow.

The inner bark of the Tree can be boiled with milk and used to relieve diarrhea. Oil from the leaves of the Tree is great for killing bacteria and viruses. This may be taken orally or the oil taken from the leaves and placed on wounds to prevent infection.

Tannic Acid from Acorns

When leaching the tannic acid from your acorns, do not dispose of the water. It has many medicinal properties and you will be tossing out a gold mine of opportunity.

Store the water in a tight container in your refrigerator and use this for a mouthwash if you happen to get ulcers in your mouth. You can use this water as a skin wash for sores, cuts, etc. as well and it will help kill the bacteria causing infection and help heal the wound. You can use this water also as an insect repellent when spending time outdoors, it is great for insect bites.

Save the water from the 2nd and 3rd boiling to use as an enema for hemorrhoids.

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