If a place is rich in acorns, then the people there will not go hungry. There are 200 to 500 species of oak trees in the world (which vary according to the classification of botanists), of which 85 are native to the United States. Although some of these 85 oak species are dwarf tree species, some of them also include some of the largest and largest tree species. In addition, in addition to the northern prairies, oak trees are widely distributed in the United States, growing densely in soils of different altitudes and soils.
Due to the abundance of acorns in the United States, this food may become the most important wild food in the country. The relatively small acorns of peach oak, pinnacle oak and black oak knot are often harvested along streams and ponds, and are popular with green-headed ducks, forest mandarin ducks, pintail ducks and other waterfowl. The quail devours this small acorn, pecking the core out of the large nuts.
Pheasants, grouse, wild pigeons, white pigeons and prairie hazelnuts like to eat this acorn and the buds of the oak tree. The wild turkey will swallow the acorn whole, no matter how big the acorn is. Some small animals store acorns for the off-season, and squirrels and golden gophers are among them. Black-tailed mules, white-tailed deer, elk, wild boar and mountain sheep like to eat acorns, as well as twigs and leaves. Black bears especially love to eat acorns.
All the acorns were delicious. Some are sweet, some are not very sweet, and that's it. However, due to the content of tannic acid, acorns have a bitter taste to varying degrees, and tea also contains this ingredient, so there is also a bitter taste. Although consuming tannic acid in large amounts can lead to indigestion, this substance is soluble in water. Therefore, even the most bitter acorns can be eaten in an emergency.
Oak trees make up the continent's most important hardwood tree, and in the eastern forests of the United States, most of the trees are oak trees. The wood density of this tree is high, durable, and has many commercial uses. In addition, oak trees are the most popular shade trees, which can be seen on both sides of the street and around the house.
Oak trees can be divided into two main categories: white oak and red oak. The acorns knotted in the former have a sweet taste. They ripen after a growing season. The inner skin of the acorn shell is smooth. The leaves of the white oak tree have typical round lobes, but no hard leaf ends. Its bark is usually grey, often with scales.
Acorns with red oak knots are often bitter and do not ripen until near the end of the second growing season. The inner skin of this acorn shell is usually covered with a layer of fine villi. The leaf ends or lobes of red oak trees are noticeably hard. Its typical dark bark often has groove marks.
Indians often consumed acorns, or in combination with other foods. For example, the Diggers[1] heat simmered and shelled acorns collected from white oak trees in the west,[1] and then ground into coarse flour, made into cakes, and baked in a rough oven. In the east, the acorns of the white oak tree (white oak) are also ground into powder, but before making a cake, ordinary oatmeal is often mixed in and then baked. Hot simmered and ground acorns from white oak trees can also be used as a wild coffee.
The Indians leached the bitter taste of acorns in many ways. Sometimes they bury acorns in swamp mud for a year, preparing them for roasting and raw food. Some tribes put shelled acorns into baskets and seal them, and then bury them in clean freshwater sand. When the acorns turn black and have a sweet taste, they are ready to eat.
Some tribes use stone pestles to mash and grind them into powder, and many of these stone pestles are still in use today. They somehow soaked the acorn noodles in water and soaked them for most of the day until they sweetened. Acorn noodles may be placed in a special woven basket for easy rinsing with water, or they may be buried in the sandy riverbed of a stream.
To make a common, slightly sweet soup or porridge, it is necessary to filter the acorn noodles in hot water. The Indians did not usually use condiments when eating acorn noodles. In fact, before the arrival of the Caucasians, they usually had no cutlery except for tightly woven baskets. Of course, these baskets are flammable and must be placed in rocks and then heated over a campfire. The people in the tribe grab food from a common basket with their fingers, which shows how many people there are in a group.
Now, leaching acorns is an easy thing to do. Peel off the nut shells, put them in a pot and boil them in water, replacing them each time they turn yellow. If you burn a teapot of water all the way to the stove to keep warm and then continue to leach the acorns, you can shorten the necessary leaching time to a few hours, depending on the specifics of the acorns. You can also dry the acorns in a low-temperature oven (the door is slightly open), either directly or as coarse as any other nut, or as fine as other nuts.
To make acorn cake, mix 2 cups of acorn noodles, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 cups of water to form a thick paste. If you wake up at room temperature for about an hour and then put it in a pan, the cake will work better.
Put 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large frying pan, heat it up, try to drop a drop of water into it, and the "hissing" sound is enough. Scoop the paste into the pan with a large tablespoon and scoop the pie into small pieces, each more than 3 inches in diameter, with an oiled spatula. Reduce the heat and slowly color the two sides of the cake. Eat hot or cold.
There is also a practice for acorn pancakes. Mix 1 cup of acorn noodles with 1 cup of regular flour and add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 teaspoons of dual-acting baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Beat 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk and 2 tablespoons of liquid shortening. It is best to use a heavy pan or a shallow pan, heat the pot and grease the pot with bacon before it smokes.
When everything is in place, mix all the ingredients and stir slightly to form a thin batter. Excessive agitation will harden the batter. For this reason, a slightly unevenness is better than a smooth batter. When the crepes start to bubble up, turn the dough over once. It only takes half the time to fry the other side. Steamed with butter or margarine, sugar, maple syrup or some kind of wild pectin.
We thought antibiotics were the discovery of modern society, but some Indian tribes often put acorn noodles into mold. They scrape off the moldy parts and place them in a damp place for the treatment of sores and inflammation