Making coffee from acorns: collection, preparation, popular recipes

The healing properties of oak leaves, bark and fruits have long been known; they are widely used to make medicinal infusions. Not everyone knows about acorn coffee, its beneficial properties, taste and methods of preparation. Nevertheless, this invigorating, tonic drink can be a good alternative to classic coffee.

Nutritional value of coffee with acorns

The nutritional value of oak fruits is hidden in their composition, where proteins and fats predominate. For example, raw and unprocessed acorns contain more than 2% proteins and 1.5-2% fats and oils. The mass of these useful ingredients increases by 2 times after heat treatment.

Considering the nutritional value of the product, 100 grams of acorns account for 390 kcal, and sometimes over 500 kcal (depending on the method of consumption). An ordinary coffee drink made from acorns, without impurities, contains up to 600 kcal in 100 grams, which is half of a person’s daily calorie intake.

Properties of an unusual dessert

The acorn contains proteins, carbohydrates, starch, tannins and quercetin. It is the high concentration of the latter that largely determines the medicinal properties of the product.

Thanks to its composition, acorn coffee is famous not only for its bright taste, but also for its benefits:

• does not increase blood pressure, so hypertensive patients can drink it;
• has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties;
• helps with diseases of the heart, digestive system, and respiratory organs;
• useful for gum diseases and toothache;
• has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system.

If you are hypersensitive, this product should not be used. And if you have any diseases, its use must be agreed with your doctor.

Acorn coffee is a healthy tonic drink. This is one of the best substitutes for a natural product with a pleasant nutty aroma, which is not difficult to prepare yourself.

photo: depositphotos.com/silaped

Collection and procurement of raw materials

To prepare a delicious coffee drink, you will need to collect the required number of acorns in the forest, since buying them is quite difficult or expensive. It is better to collect fruits in the forest, and not in forest belts or near roads.

When and where to collect acorns

The optimal time for collecting acorn fruits is September, October, that is, the first half of autumn. To identify a good oak, you will need to examine it. A high-quality tree will have healthy foliage and bark, but a rotting tree can harm the body.

Once you have found an oak tree, there is a rule to remember. The first fruits cannot be used in cooking, as they are poisonous and unripe. It is important to look for a green tree with clean leaves and renewed acorns.

How to select quality fruits

Selecting mature and high-quality acorns is quite simple if you follow the characteristics provided:

• The color of the fruit is bright brown. The product itself is a little shiny.
• The acorn should be firm and not squashed.
• A ripe, harvested fruit easily gives off its cap.

An additional check of the oak fruit can be done at home: put all the acorns in water. Good nuts will surely sink, but poor quality ones will float.

Storage of vitamins and microelements

Oak fruits have been known for a long time as a food and healing agent. They were used by healers several thousand years ago. This theory is confirmed by an acorn recently found in the vast expanses of Japan, which had lain for almost four thousand years. The most amazing thing is that during the experiment, scientists suggested germinating it, and after a while a sprout actually emerged from the fruit.

But even this age is not the limit. Archaeologists who worked on excavations of the coastal zone of the Mediterranean Sea discovered characteristic acorn prints on the clay. They are about five thousand years old. Such an impressive date and the confirmation left in the form of a fingerprint only confirm that even then the ancient people knew what benefits would be for the body when consuming the pulp.

In the course of various scientific experiments, biologists made sure that ancient herbalists knew a lot about finding healing representatives of the flora. Analyzes have shown that even a small fruit contains a huge amount of:

• proteins;
• carbohydrates;
• tannins;
• sugars;
• fatty oils;
• tannins;
• starch.

Birds and other forest inhabitants liked all this. By gorging themselves for future use, wild boars, deer, bears, pigeons, jays and pheasants collect huge reserves of nutrients for the winter. Even field mice do not avoid them.

If you plan to use a specific storage of microelements all year round, then experts recommend drying it. Moreover, you need to know exactly how to do this correctly, adhering to the established algorithm:

• First, drying is done in the attic or covered area;
• The procedure ends with drying in the oven.

Only after this is it possible to remove the shell along with the seed peel.

Historians believe that the first people first created the simplest bakery products from ground acorn mass. And only then they adapted for identical purposes to attract cereals that were more in demand for such purposes.

The main weapon of the “brown babies” is the flavonol quercetin. This active substance has many medicinal qualities, among which are especially distinguished:

• neutralization of edema;
• relief of antispasmodic syndrome;
• reduction of inflammation.

In addition, it has a diuretic and antioxidant effect on the body. But here you should always remember that the active substance presented can cause harm. Although flavanol of this format is completely safe for animals, it poses an increased danger to humans. But if you soak the find and then warm it up thoroughly, the toxic component will be completely destroyed.

It is also important to fry correctly, avoiding burning. Instead of black, finished specimens should have a slightly reddish tint

The product is then crushed and used as the main ingredient for coffee. The following can be added to the drink according to taste:

• milk;
• sugar;
• honey.

It’s not for nothing that the Indians from North America have always been famous for their endurance and longevity. They used such powder daily, replenishing the losses that had become thinner during vigorous physical activity. To do this, the sages first boiled the harvest in boiling water to get rid of poisons and an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. Then the semi-finished product was dried and ground for flour. For the rest of the year, the powder was used to make flat cakes or other national dishes.

Preparing fruits for culinary use

Coffee from acorns is prepared only after all the fruits have been processed, dried and roasted. Acorns collected independently must undergo a mandatory procedure before they end up in a drink or food. The processing process is as follows:

1. The nuts need to be separated from the top, washed and dried.
2. Place the container with acorns into the preheated oven for 8 minutes. It is important to wait until the acorns burst and darken, and also acquire a chocolate color.
3. Remove the shells from the cooled nuts and wash them.
4. Soak the nuts and pass them through a meat grinder.
5. After that, place the finished nut mince in the oven and dry it.
6. It is important to store the mixture in an airtight jar.

The acorn mixture can be stored in this jar for 1 to 3 years if all temperature and humidity standards in the room are met.

Alcohol tincture

The use of Veselka mushroom tincture is considered the most common and simplest way to use it in folk medicine. How to prepare it, how to use it and what does the medicine help with?

Prepare 800 g of mushroom eggs, cleaned with a cloth or soft brush

Clean carefully to ensure the top layer remains intact.

Recipe for preparing a natural medicine:

1. Chop the mushrooms and place them in a 3-liter jar.
2. Fill with alcohol (40%) so that the raw materials are covered.
3. Close the jar with a lid and place it in a dark place for 2 weeks.
4. The initially colorless liquid (if properly prepared) will turn into a cognac color.
5. Strain.

Benefits and harms of coffee made from acorns

Before the product enters the body, it is important to study all the characteristics of acorn fruits. Healthy nuts will be firm, without inclusions or spots, and dark brown in color. The rest should not be used to avoid poisoning.

What are the benefits and harms of these fruits, and what is harmful in raw nuts? Let's figure it out.

Benefit

Any coffee beans, like coffee made from acorns, contain folic acid, which is useful for pregnancy. But it is important to remember that not every coffee is suitable for the expectant mother and child.

The second beneficial property of acorns is considered to help hypertensive patients suffering from blood pressure problems. Caffeine can normalize blood pressure and bring a person back to his senses after dizziness or fainting.

In addition, acorn nuts have such beneficial properties as:

1. Immunostimulating.
2. Anti-sclerotic.
3. Antiallergic.
4. Regenerating.
5. Cardioprotective.
6. Anti-cancer.
7. Antioxidant.

Thanks to these qualities, the positive side of oak coffee is appreciated by people with low immune systems and a tendency to form blood clots. It improves the quality and composition of blood, normalizes the number of red blood cells.

Harm

There are no special contraindications to consuming acorns or coffee made from them. But, if you are allergic or have a tendency to individual intolerance, you should consult a specialist.

You should not eat more than 3 raw nuts per day, because acorns contain quercetin, which gives the fruit a bitter taste. Oversaturation with this substance can lead to an attack of an allergic reaction, hives, and poor health.

In addition to the above, diabetics also need to limit their consumption of acorn drinks, as the amount of sugar can cause choking.

Rich in B vitamins

Acorn coffee is a decaffeinated drink that has a distinctive spicy flavor that is slightly reminiscent of the aroma of smoked prunes. Due to tannins (tannin), it has a slightly bitter taste.

This coffee is made, as the name suggests, from acorns, which are first boiled, then fried and crushed. The original taste of coffee can be further enriched with natural additives: honey, cardamom, vanilla or cinnamon, thereby increasing its nutritional value.

Acorns contain almost all B vitamins. Its extremely valuable representative is B6, which protects us from anemia and skin problems. In addition, it contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system. Acorns also contain vitamins B1, B2 and B5. Vitamin B9 (folic acid), which is especially needed by pregnant women, also deserves special mention.

Acorn coffee is also a source of micronutrients such as manganese, copper, magnesium or potassium.

How to make coffee from acorns

Let's look at several recipes for coffee made from acorns.

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Publication from EcoLavka Chita (@ecolavka_chita) November 6, 2021 at 5:21 PST

Traditional recipe

The traditional treat is prepared in almost the same way as the famous Arabica coffee. To add flavor to the coffee product, you can use flavorings and spices:

1. Muscat.
2. Orange zest.
3. Cinnamon.
4. Ginger.
5. Saffron.
6. Cardamom.

First of all, you need to prepare a powder from the nuts. We pass the preparation of peeled and roasted nuts through a meat grinder and send it to the frying pan. Fry until dark in color.

Next, put 2 teaspoons of the nut mixture into a Turkish pot or any fireproof container and fill it with a glass of water. Bring the liquid to a boil, pour into bowls or glasses and add sugar as desired.

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Posted by Svetlana Zaytseva (@mrszaytseva) Oct 13, 2021 at 11:21 am PDT

Recipe for those with a sweet tooth

If you have a natural sweet tooth, then this coffee recipe is just for you. Acorn coffee “For those with a sweet tooth” is prepared from the following products:

• 1 glass of hot coffee made from fruits.
• 2 teaspoons of any sugar.
• A quarter glass of milk (50 ml).
• Cream from a bottle – 60 ml.
• Any syrup.

Let's prepare at home:

• Fry the mixture in a frying pan without oil, remembering to stir with a wooden spatula. It is necessary to dry the nuts in this way until they turn a brownish color.
• Boil espresso from acorns in a special container and let it brew in a warm place for 5-10 minutes.
• Strain the drink through cheesecloth and pour into glasses.
• Add milk and cane sugar, foamed with a mixer.

You can decorate the drink with cream from a balloon or citrus zest, as well as a cinnamon stick.

Acorn frappe

To make sweet frappe you will need the following ingredients:

• Chilled coffee from fruits – 200 milligrams.
• Heavy cream – 40 ml.
• Ice – 4 pieces.
• Brown or white sugar - to taste.
• Whipped cream - for decoration, can be in any quantity.
• Orange zest or coconut shavings for extra garnish.

Preparation:

• Cool and strain the fruit broth, beat in a mixer with cream and sugar.
• Whisk until foam appears.
• Pour the frappe into bowls and garnish with whipped cream or orange.

Preparation will not take even 30 minutes of your time.

Cooking acorns

The thing about acorns is that they need processing to prepare, so you must know how to cook acorns before using them in various recipes...

Image credit: spiritcloth.typepad.com

Some curiosities about acorns:

• You can't eat green acorns, but you can let them ripen enough if you keep them in a dry place, like your pantry.
• You can collect ripe or unripe acorns for processing while you let the unripe ones ripen.
• Raw acorns are bitter because they contain high amounts of tannic acid.
• The tannic acid makes them a danger of poisoning, especially if they eat a lot.
• You just have to cook the ripe acorns, which are brown.
• Never use soft or black acorns.
• White oaks and Emory oaks have acorns that do not require leaching because they do not taste as bad.
• Red and black oaks must be thoroughly leached to overcome the bitter taste caused by high tannin content.
• Large acorns are also known for their bitter aroma.
• Uncapped acorns can be dangerous as they can protect the worm
• Acorns floating in water should be removed immediately because they may also contain worms inside.
• When you roast acorns, dried ones usually take less time to finish.
• Oak trees don't produce the same crop of acorns every year, which means some years are richer in acorns than others...

leaching

Knowing all this will help you understand how best to process and cook acorns. So all you need to do to have a sweeter taste is to leach them, which can be done in several ways.

• Soak the acorns in boiled water. You should constantly change the water, when it turns brown, this is the color of tannic acid. Therefore, you can stop doing this once the water no longer changes color.
• Make a baking soda infusion by adding 4 tablespoons of baking soda to 1 gallon of water and let the acorns sit there for 15 hours...
• Remove the shells from the acorns and place them in a cotton bag. Place this in running water and let them soak in enough until no more brown water comes out.
• If you are outdoors and don't have hot or running water, you can also use cold water, but it will take longer. You should fill a bowl with water, add the acorns and drain them several times a day until they no longer taste bitter. For black and red oaks this can take up to two weeks, less for white and Emory oaks.

You may not have a flow of water in your backyard, but this method works best when you are in the desert without baking soda or other means of boiling water...

Acorn coffee compared to Arabica

If we compare 2 types of coffee drink “Arabica” and “Acorn coffee”, we can highlight certain factors:

1. Coffee made from nuts is allowed during pregnancy, when Arabica coffee can harm the fetus.
2. These two drinks are prepared exactly the same as they look.
3. Arabica can cause addiction, as well as tachycardia, headaches, sleep problems, and dehydration.

Despite the fact that coffee made from acorns is much healthier, Arabica coffee continues to be loved for its tart taste and aroma. You should avoid any type of caffeine if there are certain contraindications.

Sweet and rich acorn liqueurs - 3 recipes

It may be strange to hear this in our area, but liqueurs made from acorns are very popular in various parts of the world, especially the Spanish Licor de bellota, which is very loved by both the Spaniards themselves and many gourmets in Northern Europe and the USA. For the first – Polish – recipe, ordinary, “our” acorns are used, for the next two, special edible ones are used. Well, or regular ones, but pre-cooked at least twice - if you really want it, but don’t have the right ingredient.

“Zheludyovka” – acorn tincture in Polish

A rather simple but interesting recipe produces a bittersweet drink with an alcohol content of about 30-32%, popular in Poland and produced industrially in some places. By the way, the Poles even produce a special concentrate for preparing acorn tincture, which is diluted with vodka at home in the same way as “Mountain Dubnyak”. But this is all lyrics, they still don’t sell it here.

• freshly picked acorns – 1 kg
• water – 1 liter
• sugar – 0.5 kg
• vanilla sugar – 10 g
• baking soda - a small pinch
• alcohol 96% – 0.5 l

American “Acorn liqueur” with rum

Widely produced in the North American States, the homemade drink tastes like both Kahlua and Tia Maria coffee liqueur, with light notes of nuts, chocolate, vanilla and almonds.

• fried crushed acorns – 200 g
• white sugar (or dark muscavado variety) – 300 g
• water – 400 ml
• light rum – 700 ml
• vanilla - a quarter of a medium pod

First, we make caramel syrup from all the sugar - burn it in a suitable saucepan until light brown, add finely chopped vanilla and fill with water. Boil, periodically skimming off the foam, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add chopped, well-fried acorns, let it boil and turn off the heat. We wait for the liquid to cool under the lid, pour it into a suitable jar, add light rum, close tightly and place in a dark place for at least 2 months. After this, the tincture needs to be filtered and you can immediately start tasting!

Licor de bellota - Spanish acorn liqueur

A typical drink for the Spanish province of Extremadura, this tincture is prepared from acorns with orujo vodka, which is quickly replaced by ordinary chacha, since in a technological sense it is almost its complete analogue - we recently talked about orujo in an article about the Galician punch, queimada.

• fresh sweet acorns (or prepared bitter ones) - 4 handfuls
• oruho, chacha or other grape distillate 40% – 1 liter
• white sugar – 1 cup
• anise - teaspoon

This version of the sweet acorn liqueur is much easier to make than the previous two! Lightly chop the peeled acorns, add anise seeds and sugar, pour chacha over everything and stir until the sugar dissolves. Close the container hermetically and place it in a dark, warm place. The recommended infusion period using classical technology is 3 months. After this, the drink must be filtered and bottled. Its taste will truly reveal itself only after six months of storage, but, they say, your patience is worth the languid wait - Licor de bellota, with proper aging, turns out simply delicious!

Preparing to make coffee

If you have already collected the fruits, following all the rules, before preparing a coffee drink from them, you need to carry out several manipulations.

At the first stage, we immerse the acorns in water, which should be at room temperature. Those nuts that float to the surface must be immediately removed and thrown away. Leave the rest in the water for about thirty minutes.

After the fruits have soaked, you need to drain the water and place them in a colander.

Preheat the oven to 100°. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and place acorns on it. Dry them until they turn brown. Most often, the drying procedure takes about ten minutes. As a result, the fruits should be well peeled.

At the next stage, the kernels must be passed through a meat grinder or ground in a coffee grinder. The finished raw material must be completely dry. If the ground mass is raw, then it must be cooked in a dryer or oven. Now we put the raw materials into jars. It is advisable that the container in which you plan to store the acorn powder is glass.

Before you get ready to brew coffee, the preparations in the required quantity must be heated in a hot frying pan. Fans of this drink note in their reviews that the length of time the powder is roasted affects the taste and depends on the individual preferences of each person.