Acorn Flour Process
Along with salmon, shellfish and terrestrial mammals, acorns are a traditional staple food source among the Native Americans of the North Coast region. Acorns from the tan oak are collected in the fall and transported back to the village in a burden basket.
After being scrubbed clean and drying on the roof of the xonta (traditional redwood plank house), the acorns are shelled and placed into woven storage baskets until ready to be milled. The next step in the acorn flour production cycle is the grinding process. Acorns are heaped onto a flat stone with a bottomless hopper basket placed on top and crushed with a large stone pestle. The hopper basket contains the flour as it is being pulverized. The freshly ground flour is then shaken through a sifting tray to remove indigestible matter. To remove the bitter tannins contained within the acorn, the processed flour is then leached by digging a small hole in the sand and filling it with cold water. Once the bitter flavor has been washed away and the sand is removed, the flour is dried and stored for later use.
The method of preparation consists of a water-tight cooking basket filled with acorn flour and water brought to a boil by cooking rocks that have been heated white-hot in the fire. The mixture is stirred with a carved hardwood mush paddle and spooned into water-tight eating baskets. Men eat the resulting "mush" with intricately designed carved spoons made of elk horn or wood, while women used large mussel shells collected from the coastline.
After being scrubbed clean and drying on the roof of the xonta (traditional redwood plank house), the acorns are shelled and placed into woven storage baskets until ready to be milled. The next step in the acorn flour production cycle is the grinding process. Acorns are heaped onto a flat stone with a bottomless hopper basket placed on top and crushed with a large stone pestle. The hopper basket contains the flour as it is being pulverized. The freshly ground flour is then shaken through a sifting tray to remove indigestible matter. To remove the bitter tannins contained within the acorn, the processed flour is then leached by digging a small hole in the sand and filling it with cold water. Once the bitter flavor has been washed away and the sand is removed, the flour is dried and stored for later use.
The method of preparation consists of a water-tight cooking basket filled with acorn flour and water brought to a boil by cooking rocks that have been heated white-hot in the fire. The mixture is stirred with a carved hardwood mush paddle and spooned into water-tight eating baskets. Men eat the resulting "mush" with intricately designed carved spoons made of elk horn or wood, while women used large mussel shells collected from the coastline.