Oak Acorns
All About Oak Acorns
Oak acorns are the nut of the oak tree. They contain a single seed, or, more rarely, two seeds. They are inside a leathery, tough shell, inside a cupule shaped like a cup. Acorns vary in size from a half-inch to four inches long. Acorns can take any time between six and twenty-four months to fully mature.
Acorns are an important food source for animals like woodpeckers, ducks, pigeons and jays. Small animals also feed on them, including squirrels, mice and other rodents. Even larger animals sometimes make the acorn an important part of their fall diet – among them, deer, bears and pigs.
Acorns are favored by animals for food, because they are easy to eat or store. Oak acorns are very good sources of niacin, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. They also contain fats, carbohydrates and protein.
In cultures now past, some human groups used acorns regularly in their diet, but now they are not a major food for humans. Two exceptions to this would be the Korean and Native American cultures, who use the inside of the acorn to make acorn noodles and acorn jelly.
Acorns don’t fall far from the tree, because they can’t float on the wind. Oaks therefore rely on dispersal agents to move the acorns into a suitable area for them to sprout. Acorns germinate at different times, depending on the species and the weather in the area.
Oak acorns have had their place in history. They have been used to represent the successful end of a hard, long labor. There is a Norse legend that says if you place an acorn on a window sill, it will keep your house from being struck by lightning. (This is the reason behind oak acorns being used as curtain pulls.) In the Japan of ancient years, acorns were used as an important food source. The Japanese picked the acorns, then peeled and soaked them, to remove the tannins, which make them bitter. Then, it is believed, they made cakes out of the “fruit” of the nut.
As far back as the 17th century, acorn juice was extracted and administered to common drunkards, as a cure for their condition. More likely, it only gave them the strength to stay away from alcohol, at least for awhile.
Oak acorns don’t have to be eaten as soon as they’re harvested, unlike most other plant foods. You can store them for a long time, just as squirrels do. In years with good harvests of acorns, the Native Americans could store some for leaner times. They would dry them in the sun to keep mold and germination at bay, and store them in hollow trees, to keep them away from hungry rodents. Acorns have been an important part of Native American foodstuffs for many years.