[Sca-cooks] acorns can be deadly!

[Glenn A. Crawford]

A word of caution: 
Acorns are full of Arsenic and the leaching process has to be done
completely and right. That is why I don't mess with them!

Glenn

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-cooks-bounces+tavernkeeper=phoenixroost.com at ansteorra.org
[mailto:sca-cooks-bounces+tavernkeeper=phoenixroost.com at ansteorra.org] On
Behalf Of Stefan li Rous
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 1:19 AM
To: SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks
Subject: [Sca-cooks] acorns

Otsisto mentioned:
> (TWGoS)The TBC book reminded me that I had come across information  
> that
> Millet was the main grain as wheat was hard to grow in the area.
> Also, before a certain type of oak died out in the area, acorns  
> were another
> flour source. (side note: you can get a starch from acorns)
> Chestnuts was interchangeable or mixed with millet.

Acorn flour tends to be rather bitter unless it is soaked for a while  
and the bitterness leached out. Acorns seem to have been more common  
among the American Indians than among the Europeans, other than in  
times of starvation. I have though seen some indication that some?  
European acorns were not as bitter as others, and perhaps those are  
from the oaks you are talking about.

For some more info on acorns, see this Florilegium file in the FOOD  
section:
nuts-msg         (116K)  9/11/04    Nuts, acorns, nut flours in  
medieval foods.

If anyone has some additional info about acorns being used in period,  
I'd love to hear about it.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****


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