Use of Acorns for Food in California: Past, Present, Future
By David A. Bainbridge
©1986
Associate Professor
United States International College of Business
Alliant International University
San Diego, CA 92131
Dry Lands Research Institute
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
Presented at the Symposium on Multiple-use Management of California's
Hardwoods, November 12-14, 1986, San Luis Obispo, California.
Abstract:
Acorns are a neglected food for people, livestock, domestic fowl, and
wildlife in California. Acorns are easy to collect, store, and process. In
addition to the nutritious nut and meal, acorns yield an oil comparable in
quality and flavor with olive oil. The existing acorn market could be
greatly expanded and provide new income for rural people. A serious effort
to identify and propagate the best oak acorn cultivars for these products
is long overdue. It is particularly appropriate for this research to be
done in California, which once had an acorn based economy.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Acorn Harvesting
- Acorn Nutrition
- Edibility
- Acorn Leaching
- Cooking with Acorns
- Acorn Oil
- Acorns as Fodder
- Acorn Use in the Future
- Summary
- Acknowledgements
- References
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INTRODUCTION
Acorns have been used as food by Homo sapiens for thousands of years
virtually everywhere oaks are found. The worldwide destruction of the
acorn resource by mismanagement may well have led to the development of
annual plant based agriculture and to civilization as we know it today (Bohrer,
1972; Bainbridge, 1985b). In Europe, Asia, North Africa, the Mid-East, and
North America, acorns were once a staple food, (Hedrick, 1919; Loudon,
1844; Brandis, 1972; Lefvebre, 1900; and Bishop, 1891). The Ch'i Min Yao
Shu, a Chinese agricultural text from the sixth century recommends Quercus
mongolica as a nut tree (Shen Han, 1982). In Spain and Italy acorns
provided 20 percent of the diet of many people just before the turn of the
Century (Memmo, 1894).
Acorns were perhaps nowhere more important than in California. For many of
the native Californians acorns made up half of the diet (Heizer and
Elsasser, 1980) and the annual harvest probably exceeded the current
California sweet corn harvest, of 60,000 tons. Acorn foods remain on the
market not only in Korea, China, and North Africa, but in most major
American cities, at Korean food stores (Wolfert, 1973; Bainbridge, 1985a).
A reevaluation of acorns and their uses is long overdue. The acorns of all
500 species should be tested. Although the acorns of some oaks are
probably too small or too hard to open for widespread use many species
that can and should be planted for use as food. They are also valuable
feed for domestic animals and birds, and wildlife.
The factors that made acorns a major food source in California in the past
make them attractive candidates for greater use in the future. They often
ripen all at once and are easy to collect. They store well and were kept
by the native Californians for several years in simple storage bins
(Merriam, 1918). They are simple to prepare, even for the varieties that
need to be leached. Although most species are bland, as are corn and
wheat; some have good flavor and could be used in place of other nuts.
The yield of acorns per acre compares well with grains. When the
long-lived, deep-rooted oaks can reach sufficient water; acorn production
can be very high, with yields of more than 5,280 kg/ha (6,000 pounds/
acre) (Bainbridge, 1986). High acorn yields can be maintained on hilly
lands where annual grain crops cause severe soil erosion (Bainbridge,
1987a).
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