This was a learning experience for me. We live in a Black Oak forest so have many Acorns this year. I read all I could and made plenty of mistakes.
This is what I did learn on my own: Do not heat Acorns directly if you want to make flour as they will cook in shells.
Open after drying soft shells over very low diffused heat or Sunshine until they become hard and have a slight "rattle" inside. (mine took about 3 days). Open with pointy end of Acorn down. (I uses a small hammer and pealed out nut with thumbnail). You see the fibrous shell or I call "Hairy Bark" on the seeds.
Place on cookie sheet and allow to dry for a few days over low diffused heat or Sunshine. the bark will peal off easily. Like I said earlier; I used room temperature over the hearth of fireplace as it's winter now and not much Sunlight.
THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED!
NOW: Take a dull paring knife and open "all" the segments of the Acorn nut. (the nut will be in 1/4's when done) You will see the small seams are dark in-between the segments. They are a bit slanted to open so be careful. This is the second major source of the tannin one would forget. This extra step will save "weeks" of soaking to get all the Tannin to leach out.
The rest is as you can see in your own investigation. Good luck; have questions contact me.
This was a learning experience for me. We live in a Black Oak forest so have many Acorns this year. I read all I could and made plenty of mistakes.
This is what I did learn on my own: Do not heat Acorns directly if you want to make flour as they will cook in shells.
Open after drying soft shells over very low diffused heat or Sunshine until they become hard and have a slight "rattle" inside. (mine took about 3 days). Open with pointy end of Acorn down. (I uses a small hammer and pealed out nut with thumbnail). You see the fibrous shell or I call "Hairy Bark" on the seeds.
Place on cookie sheet and allow to dry for a few days over low diffused heat or Sunshine. the bark will peal off easily. Like I said earlier; I used room temperature over the hearth of fireplace as it's winter now and not much Sunlight.
THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED!
NOW: Take a dull paring knife and open "all" the segments of the Acorn nut. (the nut will be in 1/4's when done) You will see the small seams are dark in-between the segments. They are a bit slanted to open so be careful. This is the second major source of the tannin one would forget. This extra step will save "weeks" of soaking to get all the Tannin to leach out.
The rest is as you can see in your own investigation. Good luck; have questions contact me.