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  • From: "WWOOF Taiwan" <wwooftaiwan@hotmail.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [permaculture] acorns
  • Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 02:37:49 +0000

I used to eat White Oak acorns when i was a kid and remember them tasting quite good and many times better than Red Oak or other oak species in our neighborhood in southern Wisconsin.




WWOOFTaiwan@hotmail.com
>From: "jamie"
>Reply-To: permaculture
>To: "permaculture"
>Subject: RE: [permaculture] acorns
>Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 10:03:36 -0000
>
>Thanks to Rob and Kathy for their comments. I know that J Russell Smith's
>'Tree Crops' was an essential foundation text in the development of
>Permaculture and wonder what work has been done by permaculturalists in
>respect of the breeding work for oaks (as well as many other forage and food
>trees) advocated by Smith?
>
>The 'cork and pork' dehesa system of Portugal and Spain using Quercus suber
>(cork) and Q. ilex (for feeding pork and with Q. ilex var. ballota to feed
>humans without need of leaching) continues, I believe, to this day. Does
>anyone know if such a system has been introduced to the US in the South West
>perhaps, where I know from friends Q. ilex volunteers freely? Are there low
>tannin US species of acorn that can be eaten out of hand? Or work toward
>such an end?
>
>On calcareous soils (such as I have here in France) chestnuts do not thrive
>and acorns become the obvious alternative and, inspired by Smith's words and
>his sense of urgency that we find alternatives to the erosion prone culture
>of cereals on hillsides (an urgency only increased with the history of
>agriculture in the 20th Century - 'Tree Crops' was first published in 1929
>after all) I'd very much like to follow research done in this area. If ever
>there was a Permaculture project of first importance for temperate
>agriculture then Smith defined it perfectly 74 years ago.
>
>A concerted effort to gather the experience of PCers and researchers alike
>and put together a booklet of the information currently available might well
>kindle/rekindle a system that has been shown to be not only profitable but
>ecologically beneficial. I'm very willing to see what I can uncover here in
>Europe (close to the Spanish border) but wonder if there are others in SW
>USA and elsewhere that might be able to contribute their experience and
>knowledge to help make a compelling case for the adoption of oak-based
>forest systems?
>
>Jamie
>Souscayrous
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
>[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Kathy
>Carter-White
>Sent: jeudi 18 décembre 2003 09:08
>To: permaculture
>Subject: Re: [permaculture] acorns
>
>
>Hi Jamie-  I took a Cherokee wild cooking class and one of the dishes
>was acorn bread... actually more like the texture of corn mush.
>According to Indian Herbology of North America, acorns can be used for
>soup, bread and pudding.  I can't find my recipe book right now, but
>I'll check for recipes.  Indian Herbology says these were gathered
>sometimes, ie 500 lbs per person and stockpiled for winter cooking, so
>I'd assume they were gathered in the fall... and I'm guessing it was
>after first frost just because most things for winter were gathered
>after first frost (grapes, persimmons, hickory nuts).  Were the White
>Oak better?  Above source says acorns have the property of neutralizing
>poison... Just guessing that the high tannin content  does the ph
>thing.  I recall you roast them before grinding, and pour boiling water
>over them to take away the bitter... k
>
> >
> >
>
>
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