How to Leach Acorns in Hot Water

Acorns are rich in tannins, which can give them a bitter or astringent taste. Leaching is a process that removes the tannins from acorns, making them more palatable and easier to digest.

This can be important for people who want to use acorns as a food source, as tannins can cause gastrointestinal distress if consumed in large amounts.

Leaching also makes acorns more versatile in cooking, as the tannins can interfere with the flavor of other ingredients in a dish.

The Ingredients and Tools Required to Leach Acorns

You will only need a few simple tools:

• Acorns: They are the essential ingredient of the whole process.
• Hammer: A kitchen hammer (or a regular one) will be handy to shell the acorns.
• Pot: The pot is going to be used to boil the water. I prefer to use two of them, as you will see in the directions.
• Water: Obviously, we will need water to boil the acorns.
• Strainer: It will be helpful to remove dirty water between boils.
• Kettle (optional): It speeds up the boiling process.
• That’s all you will need to boil the acorns successfully. These tools are readily available and easy to use, making this a simple process.

Shelling the Acorns Before Leaching them

Before leaching, it’s important to shell the acorns. If you try to boil whole acorns, the shells will prevent the water from properly leaching the tannins, and the nuts will still be bitter.

How to shell acorns?

The most efficient tool to remove the outer shell is a hammer. You will also need a sturdy surface to work on, such as a cutting board or scrap wood. Place the acorns on the surface and gently tap them with the hammer to crack open the shell.

Be careful not to hit the acorn too hard, as this can break the nutmeat inside into too many tiny pieces. Once the shell is cracked, use your fingers to remove the acorn meat. If you can’t do it with your fingers, use the tip of a knife, as seen in the image below.

Repeat this process with the remaining acorns. For those that are more difficult to crack, it may be necessary to apply more force. Just be sure to use the hammer carefully and avoid smashing the nutmeat completely.

A cloth may help

Covering the acorns with a cloth before hitting them with a hammer can help bring even better results. When you crack open the shells with the hammer, the fabric will cushion the impact and absorb some of the force, reducing the likelihood of the nutmeat suffering excessive damage.

On top of that, this method can also help keep your kitchen clean. When you crack open the shells, there is a chance that small pieces of shell or nutmeat could fly off and scatter around the kitchen. By using a cloth to cover the acorns, they will be trapped, instead of flying around the kitchen and making a mess.

A word about the acorn skin

After shelling, remove as much skin as you can. However, it will be impossible to remove all of it, as some skin will inevitably remain attached to the acorn meat. This is normal, and you don’t need to worry about it. The inner skin will come off much easier once we start boiling the nuts.

How to Leach Acorns

As discussed before, this process is based on hot water leaching. I will use the two-pot system, but you can do it with one. Here is how it’s done:

1. Boil the acorns

To begin, add the acorns to a pot of boiling water. The water should cover all the acorns, but make sure you leave at least one-third of the pot empty. You cannot go wrong with one-third of acorns, one-third of water, and one-third empty.

Boil the water and let the acorns simmer for 30 minutes. The tannins will be released into the water as they cook. That will create a dark brown color.

2. Boil a second pot with the same amount of water

As the acorns boil in the first pot, bring the second one to a boil. You should use the same amount of water; the difference is that there are no acorns inside yet. This way, when you are ready to transfer the nuts to the second pot, the water will already be boiling.

Using a kettle can be a valuable way of speeding up this process even more. While the acorns are boiling in the first pot, you can use the kettle to boil the water for the other pot.

With both these tips (second pot and kettle), there will be no waiting time, saving you a lot of time.

3. Move the acorns from the first pot to the second one

After around 30 minutes, it’s time to remove the acorn pieces with the help of a strainer and wash all the dirty liquid out of them.

After that, place the acorns in the second pot of boiling water. You can use only one pot if you want, but it will take longer.

4. Repeat until the water clears

Now, do the same thing, but the other way around. The acorns will be boiling in the second pot, so you boil the water for the first pot at the same time. Keep moving the nuts between the two pots until the water clears. And make sure you always use clean and fresh water when changing pots. This can take between 5 to 10 times. 

There is no specified number of water changes. This will depend on the amount of tannins in the acorn species you use.

The way to determine when the acorns are ready is to monitor the color of the water. The water will become darker as the tannic acid is released into it. When the water is clear and no longer dark after boiling them for half an hour, the tannins have been removed.

This is my result. It took me seven boils for the water to be completely clear.

This Technique Is Called the Hot Method

Leaching acorns in hot water is a technique often called the “hot method”, or the “fast method”.

It’s one of two main techniques that can be used to leach acorns. The other one is called the “cold method”. The main difference is the temperature at which it takes place. As the name of each method indicates, the hot method uses hot water, while the cold one uses cold water, which takes days.

The hot method is the most efficient and effective way to do it, as it removes the tannins quickly and efficiently. However, the other approach is more suitable in certain situations.

When should you use cold and hot water leaching?

The main thing to remember is that hot leaching precooks the starch in the acorns, diluting its binding property. Hence, using cooked nuts for acorn flour yields crumbled baked goods.

On the other side, cold leaching preserves acorn starch, making it perfect for preparing flour. If you want to prepare something that requires flour, such as acorn bread or pancakes, you will need to cold leach your acorns.

For a detailed explanation, check our step-by-step tutorial on how to make acorn flour using the cold leaching method.

The hot leaching method will work perfectly for anything else, such as adding acorns to your dishes, making coffee, and using them as a snack.

Storing the Leached Acorns

To store leached acorns, you should first let them dry completely. You can spread them out on a baking sheet or other flat surface and let them sit for several hours or overnight. After they are dry, move them into an airtight container and keep them somewhere cool and dry, away from light and moisture. They should be good for 2 to 3 weeks.

You can store the leached acorns in the refrigerator to prolong their shelf life. However, I don’t like waiting more than a month before using them. They will likely last longer, but I prefer not to wait too long.

Ideas for Using the Leached Acorns in Recipes

Once you have leached acorns, you can use them in various recipes or other applications. Here are some original ideas to get you started:

• Make acorn porridge or grits. You can boil leached acorns a bit longer until they become soft and then mash them into a porridge-like consistency. This porridge can be flavored with honey, maple syrup, or other sweeteners and served as a hot breakfast cereal.
• Use leached acorns as a thickener in soups and stews. You can mash the cooked nuts into a paste and then stir them into soups and stews to add thickness and texture. Acorns can also be used as a natural thickener in sauces and gravies.
• Use them as a topping for salads, oatmeal, or other dishes. Their crunchy texture and sweet, nutty taste can add a delicious twist to many dishes. You can also sprinkle them over ice cream or other desserts for added crunch and flavor.
• Roast the leached acorns in the oven and use them as a snack. They make a satisfying, healthy alternative to chips or other packaged snacks. Check our blog post, where we teach you how to roast acorns at home.

Conclusion

In summary, hot leaching acorns is a simple and effective way to remove tannins. Processing acorns this way makes them more palatable and versatile in cooking, not to mention less toxic. There are only a few basic tools you need to achieve it.

With the help of this guide, you can quickly learn how to leach acorns and incorporate them into your routine. Give it a try and see how this ancient technique can add new flavors and textures to your dishes.