Every season has its own charm, and autumn is proof of that. All trees are decorated with crimson and golden foliage, pleasing to the eye. And the minus of this time of the year is that the variety of fruits and vegetables that summer is so rich in is ending. But autumn also brings a lot of useful things, we just don’t know how to use everything correctly.
For example, oak. Everyone has heard about the healing properties of its bark, but not only it is valuable. Oak fruits - acorns - bring many benefits. Our ancestors knew about them. Today, some doubt whether people can eat acorns? This article will help dispel all doubts and talk about this small but unusual fruit.
Origin
Before you know whether acorns are edible, you should familiarize yourself with their very interesting origin. Oak is a self-sufficient plant. It is monoecious, which means that both male and female flowers appear on it at the same time.
Firstdiffer in length, they hang beautifully from the branches, have a yellow-green color. They are often mistaken for young oak leaves. The second type of flowers, female, is less expressive, and only a more experienced specialist can distinguish them. In their shape, they resemble small green grains with red tops. They grow separately, on thin twigs.
Together, these flowers produce acorns that appear just in time for autumn. These fruits are very sensitive: if there is not enough moisture, then they die, and excess heat leads to decay. The cold is also harmful to them, so it is not so easy to save the seeds.
In natural conditions, they are reliably protected by fallen leaves, where enough moisture is retained, and a thick layer of snow protects from frost and dryness.
Composition
Are acorns edible for humans, their composition will tell. They contain protein substances, up to 40% starch, up to 4.5-5% oil, as well as tannins, sugars and quercetin glycoside.
Scientists have found that the composition of acorns made it possible to make the first bread from them, and not from cereals. Oak became the plant whose fruits were ground into flour and baked cakes from it five thousand years ago.
Current stereotype
For many, the question of whether people can eat acorns will seem completely absurd. And this is a completely expected reaction, because it is difficult to call this fruit a regular in our diet. Therefore, people are convinced that acorns are suitable only as animal feed or material for souvenirs or applications. But in fact they can be incredibleuseful and help in the treatment of various diseases.
Useful properties
Acorns are used as pet food because they are highly nutritious. Even from fables and fairy tales, we know how pigs and wild boars are not indifferent to this fruit.
For a long time, acorns saved people from famine, for which they began to be associated with poverty and insolvency. But should prejudice detract from all the benefits that the described type of nut contains?
He can seriously compete with natural coffee, olives and even cocoa beans.
As a medicine, acorns have enveloping, bactericidal and antitumor properties.
In addition, they act as a component of decoctions and mixtures for the treatment of female diseases, eliminating problems with the genitourinary system and increasing potency.
They also have a beneficial effect on the affected by poisoning, colitis or digestive disorders. Oak fruit effectively fights pain in the gums and teeth.
Whole List
If you're still in doubt about whether you can eat acorns, take a look at this impressive list. The named fruits are used in cooking:
- coffee;
- infusions;
- jelly;
- soup with milk;
- flour;
- porridge.
The most common method of preparing this kind of nuts is roasting or drying. Of them are madesweets, covered with sugar or caramel. An equally appetizing option for using acorns is baking cakes or cakes.
Because it is a type of nut, butter is made from them by grinding. Particularly inventive culinary specialists from Asia began to use acorns to make starch, from which noodles or jelly are then obtained.
Important to remember
Specialists believe that doubts about whether people can eat acorns have arisen because of the bitter smell of these fruits. When peeled, they exude quite strongly.
The reason for this is the high content of tannic acid. It is present in raw acorns and is very harmful to humans. Therefore, it is important to remember that before eating, they should be boiled or soaked in water. To do this, the acorns are peeled, then cut into four parts. Only then they are filled with water and left in this form for two days. When the acid is gone, the fruits will become sweet.
The question of whether people can eat acorns was solved millennia ago. Despite the fact that over time our diet has been noticeably enriched, and many products have become available not only to the privileged strata of society, as it once was, we should not forget about the beneficial properties of some of them. Fans of the unusual can always taste acorns and add one more item to the list of unusual culinary experiments.
