In autumn, the oak impressively demonstrates its reputation as the king of the forest. Now myriads of acorns are pattering to the ground. This awakens a passion for collecting in people and animals. We invite you to take a stroll through the diverse uses of acorns. Questions about the crunchy tree fruits with the cheeky cones will receive a well-founded answer here.

Acorns are very nutritious and can be processed into flour or coffee, for example

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Edible?
  3. How to make acorns edible?
  4. What do acorns look like?
  5. When are acorns ripe?
  6. What can you do with it?
  7. What to do with acorns
  8. Which animals eat acorns?
  9. Oaks grow from acorns
  10. frequently asked Questions

    11. the essentials in brief

    • Raw acorns are not edible due to the high content of tannins
    • However, roasted acorns contain many vitamins, minerals and valuable carbohydrates and fats
    • Roasted acorns can be used to make coffee and bread
    • If you only collect the acorns in late winter or early spring, most of the tannins will already have been washed out

    Can you eat acorns?

    Acorns are poisonous and edible at the same time. Contrary to popular belief, acorns do not contain hydrocyanic acid. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of toxic tannins, especially tannic acid, causes severe symptoms after eating raw acorns. In turn, acorns are rich in healthy vitamins and minerals. Our grandparents appreciated the high nutritional value during the famine years after wars and bad harvests. 100 grams of acorns contain a whopping 387 calories, 40.75 grams of carbohydrates and 23.86 grams of fat.

    Acorn bread, noodles made from acorns and acorn coffee helped our ancestors through difficult times with their nutty, aromatic taste. For countless children, acorn flour was the last bastion before starvation. Organic food was forgotten for a long time and is now experiencing a renaissance.

    Making acorns edible - how does that work?

    Worms in acorns generally render the fruit inedible. First check collected or purchased acorns for worm infestation. A clear indication are tiny drill holes in the bowl. Fill all the remaining acorns in a bucket with water. Anything that floats on the surface of the water is sorted out as wormy. To make the remaining acorns edible:

    1. Spread acorns on a baking sheet
    2. Roast in the oven at 150° for 20 minutes
    3. peel the roasted acorns and put them in a fabric bag or laundry net
    4. Soak the bag in a bucket of water for 4 days
    5. Change the water daily until it stays clear
    6. dry detoxified acorns in the oven at 100° on a baking tray
    7. After drying, finely grind in a meat grinder, coffee grinder or blender

    The step-by-step treatment of roasting, peeling, soaking and drying removes the toxic tannins from the acorns. Whether or not you actually grind all the nuts after drying is a matter of personal choice. Spoil your loved ones with roasted acorns as a healthy snack in good company.

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    Recipes for acorn bread and acorn coffee

    You can prepare a variety of dishes from the finished acorn flour, such as pasta or bread. You are also holding the basic ingredient for the legendary acorn coffee, also known as Muckefuck. The two recipes for acorn bread and coffee made from acorns may inspire your culinary imagination:

    Acorn bread - ingredients and preparation

    • 500 grams of acorn flour
    • 500 g whole wheat flour, optionally rye or spelled flour
    • 25 grams of yeast
    • 750 ml lukewarm water
    • 2 tbsp salt
    • 1 tbsp softened butter or oil

    Mix flour and salt. Dissolve yeast in water and fold in. Add butter or oil. Stir in the lukewarm water until you get a fluffy, fluffy dough. Place the dough in a bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours. Knead the risen dough again and shape into a long loaf. Preheat the oven to 220° top and bottom heat. Place the dough on a floured baking sheet and slide it into the middle rack. After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 190°. Make a baking test every 30 minutes: pierce a wooden skewer and continue baking as long as the dough sticks to it. A dry stick signals the end of the baking time.

    Acorn coffee - ingredients and preparation

    Acorn coffee is caffeine free

    • per cup of Muckefuck: a bowl of acorn flour
    • Coffee filter with filter paper
    • Sugar, cinnamon and milk to taste

    If you have processed acorns into flour, the preparation is no different from conventional coffee beans. Boil water to bubble. Fill the filter bag with two heaped teaspoons of acorn flour and slowly pour the hot water over it. With sugar, cinnamon and milk you give acorn coffee a special touch. The result is an aromatic hot drink that is good for your digestion and has a blood pressure-lowering effect.

    What do acorns look like?

    Various oak species and varieties thrive in forests, parks and gardens, which can be easily distinguished by their acorns. The most widespread are the domestic pedunculate oak and sessile oak as well as the American red oak. Egg-shaped acorns with a brown shell and a length of 2 to 3 cm hang on these trees in autumn. A characteristic feature is a cup of fruit that encloses up to a third of each acorn while it is still green and unripe. Ripe, brown acorns either fall to the ground together with the fruit cup or detach themselves from the cup beforehand. You can view meaningful images of acorns of the various oak species on Wikipedia or the tree portal.

    When are acorns ripe?

    In autumn there is a lot of activity around the oak trees, because at this time of the year the fruit is ripe. From September, flocks of brown acorns fall to the ground. During the ripening period, the smooth-skinned nuts are green and partially surrounded by a cup. As long as acorns are hanging on the tree, they are not ripe. A hunched back is unavoidable if you want to collect fully mature acorns.

    The best gathering time depends on what you plan to do with acorns. For crafting and decorating, an oak tree gives you the most beautiful fruits in autumn if the shells are only in contact with the moist soil for a short time. If you're using acorns to make flavorful dishes or invigorating Muckefuck, late winter and early spring are the ideal times of the year. By then, snow and rain had naturally washed out most of the tannins and made acorns edible.

    What can you make from acorns?

    When the days get cooler and family life moves into the warm home, acorns are ripe. This makes the handy brown nuts the ideal material for craft ideas and imaginative natural decorations. Children and adults who love handicrafts really appreciate the smooth shell of acorns, which is wonderful to paint on. The following table would like to inspire you with a colorful array of creative suggestions as to what you can do with acorns:

    acorns tips
    color with acrylic paints
    glue with colored or white wool
    make funny characters with chestnuts, pine cones, matches
    arrange as a decoration in an autumnal bowl with a candle
    crochet crochet lifelike acorns out of wool
    to paint paint from templates or freehand
    line up tinker with string as an autumnal garland
    Paint acorn fruit cups Color the fruit cups colorfully
    frisk Make felt balls with acorn fruit cups as hats

    No craft ideas - what to do?

    Not only children have fun with acorns

    Making figures out of acorns is great fun for the whole family. If the crafting ideas just don't want to bubble up, take a look at the social networks. Youtube, Instagram or Pinterest are full of creative variations and instructions for all ages.

    The popular Landlust magazine devoted an entire issue to acorn jewelry in 2010, including instructions on how to crochet acorns. Free coloring pages for children on the subject of acorns can be found in many places on the internet. For example, child-friendly templates can be downloaded from gratis-malanleitungen.de.

    What can you do with acorns?

    Acorns in abundance arouse the passion for collecting and raise the question of what you can do with the spherical fruits. Instead of letting the valuable nuts rot carelessly on the floor, there is a wide range of sensible options for useful use. The following list aims to inspire you to benefit from the wealth of an oak tree:

    • plant in a pot with potting soil, let germinate and grow a tree from it (see instructions below)
    • process into flour for bread, pastries or pasta, roasted nuts, Muckefuck
    • collect and hand in in kindergarten and elementary school as handicraft material
    • give it to Haribo in October in exchange for gummy bears
    • collect and sell foresters, zoos or animal parks as fodder for deer, stags and martens
    • let it dry and drape it with chestnuts, pine cones and colorful leaves as a natural decoration

    Sowing acorns in the forest on your own is of course not an option. The use of acorns as seed is subject to the Forest Reproductive Material Act. So that sown oaks bring the right genetic material, only seed from certified stocks in public forests and parks may be sown.

    tips

    Acorns against woodworm are a popular home remedy to disinfect individual pieces of furniture from the maggots. For this purpose numerous acorns are distributed all around. Regular knocking, rattling and shaking makes life hell for the vermin in the wood. In search of an exile, the woodworms move into the acorns and can be disposed of.

    Which animals eat acorns?

    When ripe acorns crackle on the ground in autumn, a time of abundance begins for many animals in the forest. Acorns have long had their day as a staple human food in times of need or fattening feed for domestic pigs, so that wild animals can draw on plenty from September. For some stable dwellers, acorns provide a bit of variety on the menu. The following table summarizes which animals like to eat the crunchy nuts of an oak:

    forest animals barn animals
    deer domestic pig
    deer goat
    wild boar Rabbits
    squirrel mice
    Badger hamster
    Rabbit horse
    wood mouse
    marten, pine marten
    jay
    great spotted woodpecker

    For all domesticated animals, acorns as food are a double-edged sword. In small quantities, the fruits prove to be a healthy addition to the menu. This also applies to the sensitive stomachs of horses or hamsters. Excessive consumption, however, causes symptoms of poisoning, such as colic, diarrhea or vomiting. Buying acorns as feed only makes sense for stable animals in individual cases. An exception applies to pig breeds that are fattened for noble oak ham and tolerate acorns as feed well. A prime example is an Iberian breed of pig that is fed almost exclusively on acorns. Spanish ham inspires gourmets all over the world with its pink, fine-fibrous structure and unmistakable taste.

    The best ham grows on oak trees.

    Growing oaks from acorns - how does that work?

    Acorns germinate very slowly. It is consequently a time-consuming undertaking to grow a tree from acorns. The project is still worthwhile, because an oak tree can live up to 1,000 years and tells of the ambitious gardener who brought it to life over many generations. As cold germs, the seeds first have to go through a cold phase, called stratification. Only then is the willingness to germinate for successful cultivation. The following instructions explain how to grow a magnificent tree from acorns:

    The flourishing of a new oak tree is a special experience

    Collect, test, stratify

    Due to a high failure rate of more than 50 percent, we recommend harvesting and stratifying a larger number of acorns.

    1. best time for collecting: September and October
    2. Remove brown acorns from the fruit cup with their shells intact
    3. put in a bag with damp sand or sawdust
    4. store for 6 to 8 weeks in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator at 0° to 4°C
    5. regularly check for slight moisture content and first signs of germination

    sowing and cultivation

    Regardless of whether an acorn germinates or not, after 6 to 8 weeks of stratification, sowing can be carried out in the following steps:

    1. Fill 10 cm growing pots (€16.68) with seed soil or coconut soil
    2. plant one acorn per pot with the radicle or the narrower end down in the substrate
    3. Sieve seeds thinly with soil, press down lightly and water
    4. keep constantly slightly moist in a bright window seat that is not in full sun
    5. from a growth height of at least 20 cm plant in the bed in a bright, wind-protected location

    The chances of success increase significantly if you keep an eye out for germinated acorns in the forest in spring. These specimens have completed the cold phase in a natural way and are demonstrating their willingness to germinate with the first leaves. Dig up a seedling and plant it in lean, loose, peat-free soil with the small taproot down.

    digression

    Many acorns as a winter forecast?

    The Hundred Year Calendar tells us that many acorns, according to Farmer's Law, predict plenty of snow for the winter. As a result, in anticipation of a harsh winter, squirrels are said to stock up on extra large stores of food, which Mother Nature provides in appropriate amounts. This piece of wisdom is shaky for a number of reasons. Squirrels are not clairvoyant and cannot predict the weather two months in advance. Furthermore, the number of blossoms from the previous year determines how many acorns there are to collect this year's autumn. Last but not least, an oak tree has to come through spring safely, because late frosts in May destroy a large part of the blossoms.

    frequently asked Questions

    Are acorns nuts?

    What are acorns anyway? This question goes through the mind not only of children during an autumn walk in the forest. In fact, acorns are nuts, more precisely nut fruits. A woody pericarp usually encloses a single seed. Only when the shell around the individual seed has completely hardened does it fall to the ground as an incipient fruit. Consequently, acorns play in a league with well-known nuts such as hazelnuts or walnuts.

    When do acorns fall?

    Under normal conditions, ripe acorns fall to the ground from September. Exactly when a seed drop begins depends largely on the weather of the year in question. In mild regions, the tree pit of an oak tree is already covered with ripe acorns from the beginning of September. In the cold north, acorn lovers usually have to wait until the end of September for the first brown nuts to fall.

    Can goats eat acorns?

    Roughage is essential for a good rumen function in the robust goat's stomach. Woody plant parts are therefore an important part of a healthy diet. This includes ripe acorns. The versatile ruminant stomach of a goat processes the tannins it contains without any problems. Only brown, ripe acorns may be fed, because green fruits can be poisonous. However, the amounts eaten should be limited due to the high calorie and carbohydrate content, so that the animals do not become fat.

    Our dog eats acorns. Can the animal get poisoned?

    You are right to be concerned, as eating large amounts of acorns can result in poisoning. Acorns contain a high concentration of tannin. This tannin can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and even kidney failure in dogs. If your darling eats one or the other acorn while walking in the woods, there is no reason to panic. Of course, small dogs should not eat more than five acorns. Aside from the toxic tannin, there is a risk of intestinal obstruction if the nuts are swallowed whole.

    Do squirrels eat acorns?

    Acorns are not high on the menu for squirrels. The bitter substances it contains spoil the appetite of the furry climbers. Squirrels prefer to eat beechnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts and berries. When the small stomach growls mightily, acorns are eaten anyway. Squirrels use fruits that have been lying on the ground for a long time, so that the rain has washed most of the bitter substances out.

    Should I remove acorns from the lawn and compost them in the fall?

    Lawn covered in acorns is no cause for concern. The nuts cannot cause permanent damage to the green space. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that lively tree seedlings will sprout in some places next year.It therefore makes sense to remove acorns from the lawn in autumn. You simply collect small amounts by hand. You can easily vacuum up a thick carpet of acorns with a leaf blower or a special acorn collector. Acorns are not suitable for composting. You can give larger quantities to the local forester as rich winter fodder for deer.

    tips

    With a close-meshed net you collect premium quality acorns. Laid out under the tree in good time, the harvest net prevents direct contact with the ground with leaf litter and rotten acorns from the previous year. Before that, the floor is cleaned of old branches, stones and leaves. After the seed has fallen, the net is pulled in promptly so that as little wet leaves and debris as possible fall on the valuable acorns.

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