Oak bush-crickets are predominantly carnivorous insects that feed on a variety of smaller invertebrates, such as caterpillars and other larvae. Tree crickets are omnivorous insects, consuming both plant and animal-based food sources, making them adaptable in various environments. They exhibit courtship feeding behavior, where the male tree cricket secretes fluid from the metanotal gland between its wings in the thoracic cavity to provide nutrients to the female during copulation. Female tree crickets have even been known to steal this fluid from a mating pair during copulation or finish consuming it if the first female dismounts and leaves.
Tree crickets live and thrive in the foliage of trees, where they feed on leaves, flowers, and other plants. They range in size from ½” to almost an inch, and some species can live in meadows. Although many species of crickets are considered pests, species within Oecanthinae are generally beneficial due to their habit of eating soft-bodied insects. They grow up to one inch in length depending on the species.
The oak bush-cricket lives, feeds, and breeds in trees and woodland, feeding on smaller invertebrates. It does not have a “song” but drums on leaves with its hind legs. The female lays her eggs in tree bark in late summer, and the nymphs emerge the following June.
Critics are omnivores, eating both plants and insects, and they support more life than any other UK native tree. They like to eat plants, especially leaves and flowers. Oak trees support more life than any other UK native tree, and insects such as aphids and caterpillars feed on oak leaves.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Does crickets eat newly born plants? | Crickets are omnivores they eat both plants and insects and they eat anything in your garden. They like to eat plants especially the leaves and flowers. | quora.com |
| Oak bush-cricket | The Oak bush-cricket is arboreal and can be found in mature trees in woods, hedges, parks and gardens in summer. | wildlifetrusts.org |
| Bugs That Eat Oak Trees – Aardvark Tree Service | Common Oak Tree Eating Bugs · Oak-stem Borer · Forest Tent Caterpillar · Two Lined Chestnut Borer · Gypsy Moth · Got Bugs in Your Oak Trees? | aardvark-tree-service.com |
📹 How to eat acorns, but maybe don’t
Thanks to Trade Coffee for sponsoring this video! Get $30 off a subscription with Trade: https://www.drinktrade.com/ragusea 1993 …
How Do You Get Rid Of Crickets In A Tree?
To effectively get rid of crickets, consider these natural repellents and maintenance tips. Start by using molasses traps, mixing one part molasses with ten parts water in shallow containers to attract and catch them. Keeping your yard tidy is crucial, as crickets thrive in overgrown areas. Regularly trim your grass and remove debris that provides hiding spots. Additionally, sprinkle diatomaceous earth in affected areas and plant nitrogen-fixing plants to deter them.
Seal any entry points to your home to prevent crickets from getting inside, while reducing moisture in your environment can further minimize their appeal. Employ DIY methods such as traps made from dish soap and water, sticky traps, or vacuuming spaces where crickets are active. If manual efforts fail, consider using general bug sprays or those specifically designed for crickets, focusing on corners, basements, and ventilation points.
For a natural repellent, create a spray using fresh hot chilis or chili powder mixed with water and a few drops of dish soap. Don't overlook the role of natural predators, like birds, which can help control cricket populations. If these methods prove insufficient, hiring a pest control expert may be necessary for more severe infestations.
Do Tree Crickets Eat Twigs?
Some tree cricket species have adapted to resemble inedible objects like twigs or leaves, allowing them to blend into their environment and evade predators. Additionally, certain species can produce toxic substances or use chemical defenses derived from their plant diet. Characteristically, tree crickets are whitish to light green, slender-bodied with long antennae, and the snowy tree cricket, Oecanthus fultoni, is noted for its black-spotted antennae.
They engage in courtship feeding post-mating where the male secretes a nutrient-rich fluid from a gland to enhance reproductive success. Interestingly, females may pilfer this fluid from mating pairs. They possess a pair of wings; the forewings are hard and leathery, covering the hindwings used for flight. In fall, females lay dormant eggs in tree twigs and stems, which hatch into nymphs in spring. Tree crickets have an omnivorous diet, consuming both plant and animal materials, including aphids, leaves, fruits, and flowers.
The four-spotted tree cricket predominantly feeds on smooth oxeye and other plant matter, causing damage to plants by creating holes in leaves and stems. Despite their potential to harm plants, tree crickets are beneficial as they help control pest populations like aphids. Not easily noticed due to their effective camouflage, these insects primarily inhabit upper levels of vegetation, making them a hidden yet vital part of their ecosystem. Overall, tree crickets exhibit fascinating adaptations and feeding behaviors that illustrate their role in nature as both predator and prey.
How Do You Identify An Oak Bush Cricket?
The oak bush-cricket, Meconema thalassinum, is a lime green insect characterized by large antennae and a distinctive yellow-orange stripe along its back. Females possess a long ovipositor for egg-laying, while males have curved cerci. Identifiable by its slender and vibrant body, the oak bush-cricket lacks the black speckling found in similar species, like the Speckled Bush-cricket. Typically inhabiting warm ancient woodlands, parklands, and hedgerows, these crickets are active from June to November but are often well-camouflaged high in tree canopies, making them difficult to spot.
Adult oak bush-crickets develop wings, contrasting with the wingless southern oak bush-cricket. They reach about 20 mm in length (including the ovipositor), and their antennae can extend an additional 40 mm. Males attract females through subtle drumming sounds on leaves, while females lay eggs singly under tree bark. Nymphs emerge in late spring.
Despite being common and widespread, oak bush-crickets are nocturnal and often go undetected, especially since males do not produce songs. Consequently, they are under-recorded in many areas. Their eggs represent the initial developmental stage, offering protection to the embryo within.
In appearance, oak bush-crickets are light green with a pale yellow stripe along their backs. They typically inhabit trees, hedgerows, and shrubs, particularly in the Midlands of the UK. They can easily be confused with other similar-looking species when they are nymphs, but adults have distinct treatments and coloration that aid identification. This guide seeks to inform enthusiasts on recognizing oak bush-crickets, as well as offering insights into various other common grasshoppers and bush-crickets present in the UK.
What Is Attacking My Oak Tree?
Oak wilt is a non-native, fatal disease that affects oak trees, particularly red oaks, with rapid lethality. If unmanaged, it can severely diminish oak forests, promoting the growth of invasive species like buckthorn and maple. Symptoms of oak wilt can mimic those caused by native pests, such as the twolined chestnut borer, which infests stressed oaks. Despite being more disease-resistant, oak trees can suffer from various issues, particularly younger saplings.
Hypoxalon canker is one opportunistic fungus that targets weakened oaks, transmitting through spores from infected to healthy trees. Although many oak species thrive in South Carolina, they remain vulnerable to numerous pests and diseases. Maintaining healthy oak trees through proper cultural practices is essential.
Identifying and treating oak tree diseases is crucial to preventing catastrophic outcomes, as dying trees can pose safety risks and decrease property value. Signs of distress in oaks often include leaf discoloration. Common oak diseases can complicate garden aesthetics and require keen observation for early intervention. Laetiporus sulphureus (now L. gilbertsonii) can invade the oak’s root system, especially through injuries sustained by other trees.
Oak leaf blister, caused by the fungus Taphrina caerulescens, affects many oak species, with red and black oaks being particularly susceptible. Once bark beetles infiltrate the trunk, the tree’s health quickly declines, and insecticide treatments may prove ineffective. All oak species are at risk, with red oaks highly susceptible to oak wilt, a rapidly spreading fungal infection.
Do Crickets Eat Trees?
Crickets are known for their omnivorous diet, which encompasses both plant and animal matter. They have a diverse eating habit that can lead to problems in gardens and homes. Crickets consume various parts of plants, including leaves, stems, and flowers, which provide essential nutrients for their growth and reproduction. They are attracted to fresh fruits, particularly ripe and decaying ones, along with decaying foods and fungi. Additionally, crickets feed on small insects like aphids, caterpillars, and other defenseless arthropods, and they scavenged dead invertebrates and biological debris.
In ornamental gardens, crickets may damage trees by eating bark, which can lead to cosmetic and structural harm in homes by consuming wood siding, increasing susceptibility to water damage. They hydrate primarily through their food and are often found in damp environments. Crickets exhibit opportunistic feeding behavior, adapting their diet based on available resources, making them an integral part of the ecosystem, particularly in nutrient cycling.
They are essential for controlling pest populations as they feed on other insects while thriving on a range of plant materials. Their feeding habits reinforce their role as garden pests, as they indiscriminately consume various plants and insects in their surroundings.
What Bug Is Eating My Oak Tree?
Oak trees face numerous pest challenges, including foliage-munching caterpillars, sap-sucking aphids, and scale insects, all of which can inflict considerable damage. Wood-boring insects threaten the structural integrity, while gall wasps induce abnormal growths on the trees. Identifying the right insects, such as leafhoppers and spittlebugs, is essential to manage infestations and prevent diseases like Oak Wilt and Sudden Oak Death. These pests not only affect the health of oak trees but can also pose hazards to surrounding wooden structures.
Regular inspections can aid in early detection of pest issues, allowing for timely intervention. The oak slug sawfly and moth larvae are specific pests that defoliate oak trees. Furthermore, the leafminer presents sequential symptoms that indicate its activity. Protecting oak trees involves recognizing common pests, including the orangestriped oakworm and various borer species. Managing weeds and increasing care through fertilization and irrigation can extend the life of infected trees.
It is vital to be proactive in pest management to safeguard both the trees and nearby properties. Overall, awareness and vigilance are key to protecting oak trees from the range of pests and diseases they encounter.
What Do Oak Borers Look Like?
The adult goldspotted oak borer (GSOB), Agrilus auroguttatus, is a small, bullet-shaped beetle approximately 10mm long, characterized by six golden yellow spots on dark green forewings. Mature larvae are slender, white, legless, and about 18mm long, possessing two pincher-like spines. Responding swiftly to wood borer infestations is crucial, as they can cause significant damage rapidly. Identifying the specific type of borer is essential for effective control.
Signs of infestation include leaf and branch dieback, particularly from the top of the tree, winding bark patterns, and small D-shaped exit holes. Infestations typically result in sawdust-like material, sap oozing from holes, swollen and cracked bark, as well as leaf discoloration, ultimately threatening tree health.
Different wood borers target either hardwoods, like eucalypt and oak, or softwoods such as pine and cedar, and each leaves distinctive signs. Adult oak pinhole borer beetles are 5-8 mm long, pitch-brown to black, recognized for their elongated shape compared to smaller oak-feeding bark beetles. The red oak borer manifests crescent-shaped holes in the bark, while the Mediterranean oak borer, a tiny wood-boring beetle, can spread multiple fungal species to infested trees.
They share common characteristics with other beetles and display distinctive markings upon emergence. Monitoring for infestations is crucial, particularly during spring and summer, to mitigate damage by these wood-boring pests which weaken trees through their tunneling activities, impairing vital transport tissues and potentially girdling or breaking branches. Regular inspections can aid in early detection and management.
What Is Killing All My Oak Trees?
Oak wilt is a highly aggressive disease affecting various oak species (Quercus spp.), posing a significant threat to oak populations in the Eastern United States. Discovered in 1944, it results in the deaths of thousands of oaks annually in forests, woodlots, and home landscapes. Besides oak wilt, other diseases like sudden oak death and oak anthracnose also contribute to oak mortality. Insects such as bark beetles and twig girdlers exacerbate the damage to these trees.
Environmental stressors—like drought, soil compaction, and mechanical injuries—further heighten an oak's vulnerability. Symptoms of oak wilt include wilting leaves, branch dieback, and sudden browning, with leaves often remaining attached. Early identification of these symptoms is crucial for mitigating damage, with leaf discoloration from green to yellow or brown being a key indicator.
Sudden Oak Death, caused by the water mold Phytophthora ramorum, has similarly devastated oak populations, especially in California and Oregon. This contagious disease spreads through interconnected root systems, stressing the importance of monitoring oak health. Factors such as drought, pollution, and mechanical injury are known to invite infections, while damage from pathogens like Botryosphaeria and Hypoxylon can further weaken oak trees.
Understanding and identifying various oak diseases are essential for maintaining healthy oak populations and preventing catastrophic tree losses. Thus, effective management strategies should be implemented to protect these valuable trees from aggressive diseases like oak wilt.
Are Oak Bush Crickets A Threat?
The oak bush-cricket (Meconema thalassinum), native to Europe and the British Isles, thrives in oak woodlands, residing in foliage and canopies of mature trees, hedges, parks, and gardens during summer. Highly camouflaged, these arboreal insects are occasionally attracted to lights at night, making them visible in moth traps or on windows. Unlike other crickets, males do not produce a traditional song but instead drum on leaves using their hind legs in short, rapid bursts. This species is predominantly carnivorous, feeding on small invertebrates, and plays a role as a predator in its ecosystem.
Currently, the oak bush-cricket is not considered threatened, according to the latest IUCN assessments (Sutton, 2015). However, environmental changes pose future risks. For instance, the introduction of the southern oak bush-cricket (Meconema meridionale) may negatively impact the native species. Habitat loss due to forest expansion and agricultural intensification are significant threats across Europe, contributing to the decline of over a quarter of cricket and grasshopper species on the continent.
Females lay their eggs in crevices of bark, mosses, and lichens, ensuring the continuation of the species. While these crickets do not pose any threat to humans—lacking venom and causing no significant harm—they are important indicators of woodland health. Conservation efforts focus on preserving their natural habitats and mitigating threats from habitat destruction and invasive species. Engaging communities in protecting urban trees and influencing governmental policies are crucial steps in maintaining the populations of the oak bush-cricket and other woodland invertebrates.
Where Do Oak Bush Crickets Live?
The oak bush-cricket, a native arboreal species of the UK, thrives in ancient woodlands, hedgerows, parklands, and gardens, often found in the canopy of mature trees like oaks. This species, recognizable by its bright green coloration and small size (about 20 mm long), is common in southern England and Wales, extending north to Yorkshire and the Lake District. Males attract females by drumming on leaves with their hind legs instead of producing a traditional song. Females lay eggs under tree bark, and nymphs usually emerge in late spring, becoming visible from June. Adults can be spotted from July until autumn.
Oak bush-crickets prefer warm, ancient woodlands and are often well-camouflaged, making them challenging to locate despite their wide distribution in southern Britain, where they can be common in areas like Charnwood Forest. However, they are less frequent in northern regions and largely absent in Scotland. These insects feed on small insects and can sometimes be found in residential areas, attracted to light, especially during late summer. Their habitats also include large hedgerows and gardens.
Similar to their relative, Meconema thalassinum, oak bush-crickets are not strong flyers, preferring to reside on oak and other deciduous trees. Notably, the recently introduced Southern oak bush-cricket is a related species that has also been observed in similar environments. Overall, the oak bush-cricket is an integral part of the UK's woodland ecosystem, contributing to the biodiversity and ecological interactions within its native habitats.
Are Oak Bush Crickets Carnivores?
The oak bush-cricket (Meconema thalassinum) is a distinctive species among bush-crickets, primarily due to its largely carnivorous diet. Unlike its relatives, which are typically omnivorous, the oak bush-cricket predominantly feeds on various smaller invertebrates, including caterpillars, larvae, and other small insects. This nocturnal and arboreal species is closely associated with mature trees, particularly oaks, where it thrives in the bark crevices, mosses, and lichens that provide both habitat and sites for egg-laying. Females lay their eggs in these protected areas, ensuring the next generation is well-placed within their preferred environment.
During the mating season, male oak bush-crickets employ a unique courtship behavior by drumming on leaves with their hind legs to attract females. This drumming produces sounds that are nearly imperceptible to humans, differentiating them from other crickets that rely on more audible songs. Although the oak bush-cricket is not frequently observed, it is an adept flyer and is often attracted to lights at night, leading to occasional appearances in moth traps or on windows.
The oak bush-cricket plays a role in controlling populations of pests such as the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner, showcasing its importance in the ecosystem as a predator. Additionally, it serves as a host for the parasitic worm Spinochordodes tellinii. This parasite manipulates the cricket's behavior, increasing its attraction to water, which is essential for the parasite's life cycle completion.
Measuring typically between 14 to 17 mm in length, excluding antennae, the oak bush-cricket is common and widespread, particularly in southern regions. Its carnivorous nature acts as a natural deterrent against predators, as it may consume toxic plants like milkweed, which can induce vomiting in potential threats. While other bush-crickets may have varied diets and behaviors, the oak bush-cricket stands out for its specialized feeding habits, nocturnal activity, and unique reproductive strategies, making it a fascinating subject for entomologists and nature enthusiasts alike.
📹 Fuzzy Orange Balls on Oak Leaves: What are they and should I be worried?
Late summer and early fall you may see small fuzzy orange or red things begin to grow on the surface of leaves on some oak …
A tip for acorn harvest if anyone attempts it: always collect the late season acorns and make sure to put the nuts in a bucket of water. Only bother with the acorns that sink as both the floating and early season acorns most likely contain a gross weevil larva that basically turns the inside of it into dirt. It may not work 100% of the time as I have found a weevil in an acorn that sunk, but it is better than finding a whole lot more of them and wasting time cracking them open. Hope this is helpful!
Acorns were the staple carbohydrate for many California tribes, enough such that despite proximity to corn growing regions, there wasn’t need to cultivate corn in California. Because of how plentiful food was in the region, California had the highest density of native folks compared to other regions of the US north of Mexico. Certain species were preferred. Incidentally, tanoaks (Notholithocarpus) were preferred over actual oaks because their seeds had higher tannin content and thicker shells which helped ensure they didn’t go bad or get infested with pests. The Rumsen folks would travel north into the territories of other native tribes because tanoaks were so highly valued. As for processing, the way California Natives would process them is to either put them into a porous bag and leave it in a cold running spring for a week or two, or to grind the kernels into a fine meal and then leach the tannins out until the meal tasted sweet and not bitter. This was often done in shallow sand pits lined with pine needles to act as a sieve. This method was so common that you can often run into acorn processing stations near all of the favored oak and tanoak groves in California. The bit of nutrients lost made leaching worth it.
In Korea, we eat acorn in the form of ‘mook,’ which is a kind of jelly. It’s a bit bitter, but it’s pretty mild, and it’s nice to have cold in the summer, with a little soy sauce. Here’s a gross little story related to acorns: One summer when I was a kid, I saw a bunch of acorns on the ground and thought, ‘Oh, I like mook, maybe I can get my mom to make mook out of these?’ So I gathered them in a small backpack and brought them home. But being a child, I forgot about this backpack for several weeks. Then, one day, while I was hanging out with a friend in my room, I remembered the bag of acorns and wanted to show her, so I unzipped and poured them onto the carpet. There were SO MANY MAGGOTS. I was disgusted and scared but I didn’t want to get in trouble so I cleaned it up by myself. I ended up smashing some of the maggots into the carpet in the process. I just avoided ever stepping on that patch of carpet for all the years I lived in that house. The end.
Also, something to help make them taste better: Those papery skins on the outside of all nuts, acorns included? Those contain significant amounts of bitter compounds, including tannins in at least the case of acorns. If you do a cold leech of your acorns, take the time to peel off the skin between one soaking and the next, while the soaking has left them nice and loose. This will significantly improve the flavor of whatever end product you’re working toward.
Acorns were a staple on the island of Lesbos until about 70 years ago. The island used to have a booming tanning industry and lots of oak trees were cultivated because the acorns were used in the tanning process. In times of hunger, the acorns were ground into flour. They were also used as feed for the livestock. You can see lots of remaining oaks on the southeastern side of the island, though they are a bit unkempt nowadays.
I’m from the Netherlands. Learned from my grandmother and mother that acorns are edible. BUT – according to your description – we only have WHITE oak here.. Rounded tips on the leaves. (Thanks for that distinction, by the way. I never knew the difference between red oak and white oak. …always wonder about that type of stuff; never got around to really researching this. Too many interests + ADD ;))
Fun fact, the word “acorn” is related to the Germanic word for a squirrel. The presumed *aikwernô comes from presumed *aiks (oak) and *wer- (squirrel). So that “acorn”, “oak” and “squirrel” are often all fairly related in Germanic languages. In German: Eichel, Eiche, and Eichhorn (more often with diminutive Eichhörnchen); in Dutch: eikel, eik(enboom), eekhoorn. Even into the Scandanavian ones: Swedish: ekollon, ek(träd), ekorre, Danish: agern, eg(træ), egern. Even Icelandic: akarn, eik(itré), íkorni. Surprisingly, Bokmål and Nynorsk both share terms: eikenøtt (oak nut), eik(etre), and eikorn. English stands as the weird one of the family. 🙂
I read an article on this subject ages ago in which some people swore the best way to leech out the tannins was to put them in a porous bag in your toilet cistern for a few days. Then every time you flush, the water the acorns are soaking in goes down the drain and is replaced. Makes the whole thing even more delicious.
I have recently become a little obsessed with foraging and processing acorns just for something fun and educational to do. It really is nice to know about different wild foods because it eases some anxiety to know that in the worst case scenarios I can at least not starve to death. Fully leached, I find the acorns kind of bland. They taste almost like bland walnuts after being roasted. I haven’t made flour yet but that’s my next experiment! Wish me luck! ^_^
here in Brazil, more common in the north of the country, the people of originari develop an immunity, or a high resistance, to hydrocyanic acid because the basis of their cuisine is mandoca, also known as Yuca or Manioca. As you say to do to the acorns, they put cassava roots in bags of palm leaves, at the bottom of small rivers for several days to eliminate part of the hydrocyanic acid. wonderful article
Hey, Adam. Thanks for this article! I’m always excited to see acorn foraging content. I’m glad that you explained the nuance of tannin content which is often oversimplified. Two things I wanted to note were that although white oak acorns may have lower initial tannin content, as an acorn forager, there are many situations where I still prefer red oak acorns. In my area, they typically are infected with fewer acorn weevils and also dry, store, and keep much better than white oak acorns! They will just take slightly longer to leach. Additionally, cracking becomes much much easier if the nuts are first initially dried enough that the nut meat pulls back a bit from the shell! Thank you again for this acorn article. I hope it creates more curiosity in people who watch it. If anyone happens to be interested in more details on acorn processing and cooking, I do have a series on my page about it! Best wishes. Happy foraging!
Judging from the comments I believe Adam will soon try acorn jelly/dotori-muk soon, so here are some fun facts: 1. Acorn jelly is made from acorn starch, which in turn was quite a chore to produce in the home. Traditionally, water will be changed constantly throughout 3~4 days to get rid of the bitterness caused by tannin. 2. Although mostly utilized as famine relief, acorn jelly was also commonly used for packed lunches or travel food as it stays fresh for days. (I’ve never tried though, acorn jelly rarely survives that long in my family fridge because somebody’s bound to gobble it up.) Currently, acorn jelly is considered a delicacy and at times recommended to people trying to lose weight as it’s low in carbs and calories, although the tannin does cause constipation. 3. Legends say that when King Seonjo was fleeing from the Japanese army during the Imjin War of 1592, he was served acorn jelly and either liked it so much or wanted to remind himself of the hardships of war (or possibly a combination of both), that he ordered the royal kitchen to serve acorn jelly after peace was restored. 4. In Kochi prefecture, Japan, there’s a type of acorn jelly called kashi dofuカシ豆腐 except it’s garnished with yuzu and miso instead of soy sauce. (This is possibly because true soy sauce本格醤油 wasn’t popularized in Japan until the 17th century.) It was created by Korean prisoners of war who were forcibly relocated to Japan following the Imjin War.
Place acorn kernels in a net bag, and hang in a running stream for almost a week. A huge problem native Americans faced was the lack of domesticated plants and animals. Acorn flour essentially was used as Eurasia used wheat, barley or any other grain. Almost all of Earth’s domesticated plants and animals originated in the Middle East.
Excellent article man,I live in south western Virginia and grew up amongst plenty of huge,healthy white and red oak tree’s, I understand what you meant about tannins because if you’ve ever cut down and processed an oak tree as fire wood,you can smell it from a mile away! It’s a strong,astringent smell and I cant imagine how eating one would taste
There are a few modification which make the whole process much much easier in my experience. Firstly, the acorns should be air dried for a month or so after cleaning and sorting. The shells turn brittle and weak, and the nutmeat shrinks back and separates from the testa. Store them like this until you want to use them. Shelling them after this is as easy as shelling peanuts, you don’t need to spend time smashing them and picking off bits of meat from the shell. It’s normal for the meat to look very dark at this point, I think it’s just from some oxidation and the tannins being more concentrated. Then grind the acorns into flour and add a base like sodium bicarbonate before soaking in lots of cold water. Lye would probably work much better, the bitter compounds in olives are chemically similar to tannins and they’re cured this way. This speeds up the cold leeching process by so much.
Oh, Adam, I was laughing out loud during this article. I soooo appreciate all you do and especially right now. I went to the local emergency department and was admitted with a perforated bowel… This acorn article helped to brighten my day. Gonna miss Thanksgiving and my first OSU Michigan game, ugh. Keep doing what you do and wish me luck, buddie! Happy Thanksgiving.
In Iran, Acorns have a different appearance. Acorns are as long as a cartridge or a finger, You can Check out About Zagros Acorns ! There is a big mountain in Iran, from the border of Armenia to the Strait of Hormuz called Zagros Mountain, the whole mountain is covered with oak. There are so many acorns that we give the acorns to sheep’s and cattles in winter. In Some Part of Country also People make bread from acorns But We Usually we put them in the oven to be Roasted and it tastes like potatoes and we eat it with honey or grape Syrup and bread as breakfast. But because it does not taste interesting isn’t not popular !! 🥴
Adam! Could you maybe make a article about some common, often-used herbs and spices? Like how to use them while cooking (using them early on or at the very end) but also how to decide what to use in certain dishes (food pairing of some sorts, and the science behind fat soluble or alcohol soluble flavor compounds)
This is really well made adam! I was unsure if the squirrel footage was stock or not, if you got it yourself that’s awesome! Proper wildlife stuff! Cool drone shot too! Color grade was tasteful and well balanced too, that main talking shot you did looked balanced throughout despite the lighting change!
This article reminds me of a wilderness survival article I saw, where the guy would gather acorns, wrap them in a small cloth, and place them in a small flowing stream to cold leech. After a couple days he could come back and they would be edible. If you had a fire going at the time I’m sure he might roast or boil them as well
Your coffee commercial is by far the best. I hate that I’m commenting on the commercial part of your wonderful article, but I feel that nobody else will. I would like to get the equipment you use in that commercial because it looks delicious like that and I’ve never tried it when it was done like that. Super article too! I’m going back to look at some of your older ones now. Cheers
yes, I tried the leaching the acorn which took about 2 weeks. the final product didn’t have much flavor at all. I think that’s whole problem. comparing the olive preparation, I also did the similar leaching process, pretty much also 2 weeks of time, after that, I put some seasoning, salt, lemon juice, after a month, the olive tasted great! I do believe if leached acorn tastes delicious, people would do it all the time.
This was great. You should do more episodes on this kind of stuff. I was fascinated to find out about ancient cultures that used to feed their livestock pine nuts to help with their flavor profile. I’ve never even eaten a pine nut, but apparently ancient cultures used them quite widely. A series on forgotten or under utilized ingredients might be a cool idea. Anyways thanks for the content Adam.
Wow! How timely. I have an oak tree, I’m literally getting buckets and buckets of acorns every morning. I’ve been looking on YouTube to see if there are any good recipes. Adam to the rescue! Yes. I think the squirrels and chipmunks will enjoy them more. I know that Koreans have acorn jelly. It’s not very appetizing or good. Thanks for the rescue.
Another interesting thing about oak trees is they seem to follow a cycle. I don’t recall how long it is but every 5 years or so they have what they call a mast year where they produce a lot more nuts than they usually do. I have an oak tree at the end of my driveway and there was just a few nuts this year. About 3 years ago though, the ground was just covered with acorns. The trees do that on purpose. Kind of like flooding the market with acorns so that the squirrels bury a lot and end up forgetting about them because there’s so many. Nature is neat like that.
Glad to see other people here talking about the importance of acorns as food in California, but it was far from just California. Acorns were a staple crop along the entire west coast of North America. K’anawi (Oregon White Oak) is a hugely important tree for native peoples in the Pacific Northwest for the abundance of acorns they produce. The entire Willamette valley in Oregon was burned regularly in order to maintain a prime grassland ecosystem where oaks thrive. Once they’ve been leached of tannins they are a really lovely food, as well as nutritious.
The secret to eating acorns is in the processing. First you soak them in room temp water twice, at least 12 hours each. Then let them thoroughly dry. Grind them into a fine powder, add water and a pinch of baking soda, pinch of cinnamon and zest of lemon. Shape them into squares 2″ x 2″. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, remove from oven and let cool thoroughly. Then carefully place each square in the kitchen sink garbage disposal, grind on high, rinse drain thoroughly and make yourself a sammich.
So little things The groups are white and black oaks. Back oaks have thin pin like structure on each lobe of the leaf. Each margin, the space between leaves, is typically deeper than white as well. You can also tell oak type by bark structure or leaves. Oaks are honestly one of the easiest to identify. (East coast forestry student.)
I remember being like 4 years old and flitting around the adults who were gathered sitting in the back yard open air patio at Grandma’s house and doing whatever grownups go. My uncle and I played a game where I would go hunt for an acorn, bring it to him and wait eagerly while he whittled it open with his pocket knife and gave me a tiny bit to ‘eat’. I would then promptly make an icky pucker face, squeal and do the spit it out dance of a small child. I would then giggle uncontrollably for a moment after entertaining the adults, then run off to get the next acorn. It was so much fun to my childhood self!
I experimented with eating acorns a few years ago. I collected acorns, ground up the nut and rinsed it repeatedly to get the bitterness out. That left me with a kind of flour that I mixed in with wheat flour to make pancakes and such. They were good. Of course it was a LOT of labor, as with most food production. The bottom line for me is that it could be a staple part of my diet in a time of famine or extreme food shortages, but not with the cheap price and availability of food in most times.
a couple of years ago we had an interesting Native American presentation of tools and food and methods in a local park. There a lady was using acorns to make flatbreads, she crushed them and had water running through them, then crushed it up more to make a kind of dough and bake them over fire in a pan. They were surprisingly good, from what I recalls she only used the acorn flour, no other flour. Very interesting and if I could buy acorn flour I’d probably do so on occasion to change things up a bit. But the acorns my oak tress throw off won’t ever be eaten by me, squirrels can have them all, too much work for what you get out of it. An other interesting article, thanks!
In my hometown we actually have a habbit of eating acorn product. It does take a lot of work. We eat only the acorn starch. We make pancakes with it, and a dessert which is made of gelatinized acorn starch. Needless to say, because of the excess processing, acorn starch costs over 16 dollar a pound. The gelatinized acorn starch looks very grey and a strong distinct flavor, which I love.
There is a pretty easy way to do the processing which is basically completely passive. Get yourself a cheese cloth or burlap bag, throw all of your halved acorns into the bag. Now…make sure the tank on your toilet is clean (yes…really). I’m not talking about the part you actually expel waste into…no the clean water retention tank on the top that drains into the bowl. Put your nut sack (I’m sorry…I had to) into the water tank and continue to use your toilet as normal…and when the new water in the toilet, after a flush, is clear…you’ve treated your acorns. This is a sort of hybrid between the running water method and the soak method, and is dead simple. Remember, toilet tank water is clean water…no different from your tap water as long as you clean your toilet tank to get rid of the excess mineral scale and the like.
I eat roasted acorns every fall. I live in Delco, Pa. There’s a forrest nearby with plenty of them. I soak them in wooder for about 3 days refilling the wooder each morning. Then I roast them in peanut oil for 8 mins at 275° then I sprinkle some sea salt and msg on there and in a few mins they’re ready to enjoy. You can also buy ready to eat acorns online, but this way reminds me of my grandmother. We used to do this when I was little.
My understanding is that white oaks (lower tannin) are annual and red oaks (higher tannin) are biennial, in case you wonder why an oak tree near you only seems to drop acorns every other year. Also, there is evidence that squirrels bury acorns from red oaks because the damp soil will leach tannins over the winter.
Of all the processes I’ve heard of or tried, steaming small pieces of acorn for 15 to 20 minutes is by far the fastest, easiest and best tasting. The steam draws out the tannins and deposits it in the water. The nuts don’t sit in the tannins as in other methods, thus it’s much faster and more effective.
Here in New Mexico, where the arid climate makes animals fight more for survival, you rarely see acorns on the ground. They get cleaned up pretty fast by hungry critters! We also don’t have many oaks to begin with — only at around 8-9000 feet in mountains. I grew up in Massachusetts where it was easy to find them on trees or on the ground.
In Korea, they do eat acorns by making them into jello. The acorns are dried and made into a powder, which is, with nothing more than water added, boiled down for quite a long while into a jello-like consistency. They eat it with a sauce or with greens like a salad. It’s very good, and very slippery tho lol they call it dotori-muk (dotori=acorn muk=jelly).
since he didnt mention it i guess he hasnt tested the sodium or potassium hyoxide bath as part of the leaching of the tannins step. you still end up washing them and leaving them to soak many times with normal water after but i had heard that if you intended to actually eat a lot of them its something you might consider doing the first bath of them in sodium or potassium hydroxide. both had been made long ago to mostly make soap
One method I’ve heard of to leach the tannins is, if you live in an area with clean enough water, to clean the water tank above the toilet enough to make it food safe, then put a fabric bag of rough ground or finely chopped acorns in there for a week. The act of flushing the toilet frequently changes the water without using any more water then you would anyway. The down side to this method is the tannins will stain a white toilet brown, not good if you have and want a white toilet, fine if you have a more neutral colour or just don’t care.
A lot was left out of this article. Cold leaching is the best method to use, boiling will lock tannins in so simmering them at lower temps is preferable. You can add ash or clay to aid in reducing toxicity. Another thing is that each type of acorn is different not only in taste but oil & fat content meaning that some are best for certain foods that you plan to make.
another good reason to not eat acorns is because acorn weevils (type of beetle) will lay their larvae inside the acorn for food and shelter until they are ready to move on. even if an acorn weevil larva was in the acorn, but is not anymore, eating the acorn would be very gross and hollow, as the larva will have eaten the majority, if not all of, the acorn from the inside. a good way to tell if there is (or was) a larva in an acorn is if there is a small hole in the acorn which are usually found on the sides of acorns.
0:34 so are the fruits of the coffee bush. They’re also toxic and gross, but you can process them to make them less toxic. Other people might enjoy coffee, but there’s nothing you can do to a coffee, cherry or bean that will make it any less gross to me, there are things you can do to acorn that can do that but not coffee.
Once we switched from hunter-gatherers to pastoral societies, we enlisted pigs to convert the nutrition in acorns into tasty protein. Herds of pigs would be led into the forest and they’d spend the year getting fat on what was called collectively “mast”. That was acorns, chestnuts, beechnuts or any kind of nut that fell in the forest. Then around October or November they’d be brought back in and turned into ham and sausage. Acorns were free pigfeed and they made the meat taste good. Iberian ham is acorn-fed, and it sells for up to $5000 per ham. It also saved us from having to eat the acorns ourselves.
May be buried in the other comments, but just in case not… white oaks tend to skip years on producticity much more so than reds which are more reliable annual producers. Also red oaks tend to have darker bark in addition to the other characteristics you mentioned while white oaks have much lighter bark.
Nice but I don’t understand something. You mentioned many times that White Oak acorns are the ones with the lowest concentration of tannins. However in 7:45 you mention that you processed Red Oak acorns. Since you already knew this detail and had around white acorn oak trees, why did you go ahead with processing Red Oak acorns?
I remember perusal another article about preparing acorns and i believe something they stressed a lot was to sun dry them first for a few weeks. I think it had something to do with the taste and after all was said and done the end result had a longer shelf life. I don’t know why but YouTube keeps recommending me foraging articles, is it trying to tell me something?!
Interestingly, the clay thing was also done for potatoes. Wild potatoes have high levels of glycoalkaloids, which will cause stomach problems in low doses and death in high ones. Locals would eat the potatoes with clay, either cooking them together like the Californian acorn bread, or even just dipping potatoes in a clay-based sauce with salt and sometimes other spices.
I’m Italian, and I have never heard of regions where acorns were eaten. I also inquired a bit, and only found that it was common in Sicily and Sardinia, yes, but mainly to make a flour out of them, and thus bread, in lean times. Definitely not today, and not “voluntarily”. So please don’t misinform.
Also a fun way to find out about an oak allergy. I did cold water leeching for a week, then got bored and hot water leeched them several times. Tried my first taste & ran for the rescue benadryl when my throat proclaimed its unhappiness and started swelling shut. Good times, Good times. They were beautiful acorns tho.
After you pulverize the pre-saoked acorns, you should keep the milk and discard the residues. Let the acron milk settle for a few hours and pour out the clarified upper layer. Steam the condensed acord starch water, and let it cool, it will turn into a really declicous acorn tofu (or acron jelly). Not bitter at all and has a nice caramel-like smell. Your acorn pancake taste bad because you are doing it wrong.
I was hoping with the all this talk of tannins and Adam’s recent trip to the Detroit area that he would show off the tannin-filled water of Tahquamenon Falls in the UP, though that’s about a 6 hour drive away from Detroit so I don’t blame him. it’s the cedar tannins that give the falls its distinctive root beer color!
Every fifteen years or so, oak trees everywhere create orders of magnitude more acorns for one season. This is because if they have a consistent amount of acorns every year, squirrel populations grow to meet acorn production. I believe it’s still unknown how trees communicate to produce extra acorns for one season
Pro tip for anyone trying to get the tannin out of these: Go buy some new women’s nylons. Grind the acorn nuts in the food processor until they’re ground. Pack them all in the nylon and then tie both ends off. Run it under the tap water and squeeze it repeatedly. You’ll leach the tannins out about 10x faster. The flour that results is heavy and oily. Store it in your freezer. Then mix it 50/50 with some other kind of flour and bake with it, or make a porridge with it straight. Properly prepared it’s hearty, nutty, and slightly sweet. Well worth the effort.
Properly leached acorn meal is pretty good. Tastes like a cross between a tree nut and peanut. Not sure why your pancakes were not very good. Acorn meal pancakes are delicious, but I make acorn meal out of live oak acorns which is so low in tannin you can usually eat a few raw without drying out your mouth. I enjoy the nuttiness that meal adds to pancakes. Another point is acorns need to be ripe before processing. Some people don’t realize acorns are not always ripe.
As a chemist, I’d rather be worried about tannins clotting my organs than them making proteins inaccessible for digestion. The second biggest concern is that they’re a sponge for minerals and guess what we usually have a lot less in our food than proteins… This brings me to one idea: if you have poor water quality, like this brand Bonaqua (ironic name), where everything tastes of sodium, calcium, and magnesium, then you have the ideal water to wash out tannins. Tannins are polyphenols and phenols are poorly water soluble and weak acids. However, their salt form is water soluble. This means that if you have a basic water with a lot of cations, then you can leak out tannins faster.
as a child (50-60yrsago) in Western MA, I ate acorns as a tasty snack while out exploring the woods, back when kids weren’t overly policed by adults. I don’t recall bitter ones, or I simply thot they were “bad” and I often wondered over the years why I never heard much about themas a food source for humans. I guess lots of white oaks must have been around.
Two things. First, Japanese people do eat acorn jelly that is very similar to the Korean ones. It was very popular until the late 20th century in Kyushu’s Kumamoto prefecture and Shikoku’s Tokushima and Kochi prefectures. Nowadays it’s only popular in Kochi prefecture. The reason people in Japan eat the acorn jellies? Korean immigrants (more like kidnapped people) in the early 17th century. Second, the Basque regions in Spain and France preserved their language mostly because the Basque ancestors resisted eating grains and opted for acorns and other minor root vegetables. Also, there is a 2017 paper that some regions in Spain enjoyed eating acorns until the 20th century (The Consumption of Acorns (from Quercus spp.) in the Central West of the Iberian Peninsula in the 20th Century).
i get it but, i think it’s over-stated that acorns need processing to make them edible. we do likewise processing for many vegetables, grains, meat, making them taste ok and safe to eat. most modern vegetables have been bred from inedible original plants. plant a random avocado seed, and many years later you have a large tree with inedible fruit.
Eating acorns is easy, but you of course have to make them safe to eat. The acorns need to be peeled, dried, ground to a pulp or coarse flour, then washed in running water for a week at a minimum. Toilet cisterns (where the flush water is) have clean water in them, so technically you can wash the acorns like that.
This is fascinating and so well researched. I love foraging and food science so this is probably the perfect article for me! Thanks Adam. 😀 I know we have must a white oak nearby, because we have a squirrel who lives in our garden and s/he keeps stashing the nuts! I’ve yet to find the actual tree(s) though. I guess I’ll leave it for the squirrels this year. Just curious to taste them.
Ate a lot of black oak acorns as a kid. Wait until they are mature and they aren’t bad one at a time. Not something you would want to eat more than one here and there. Pigs get nice and fat eating acorns. when a kid that was a chore, to go and collect acorns and feed the pigs. Made nice tasting pork.
Reminded me of that one time I and my friends collected a good bit of chestnuts, brought them home, cleaned and washed them properly, googled how to cook them – all of that only for one of us to realise there are chestnuts you can’t eat and those turned out to be exactly that. So we threw all of them away 😁
Acorn flour shouldn’t be more than 25% of bread, pancakes or cookies! If properly processed, acorns made very good flour. In Greece, someone has started a company that sells acorn cookies, cereal and flour. They sell the acorn caps for tanning leather naturally. People stopped eating acorns because it’s so labor intensive to process them. However, many oaks produce more food per acre than a modern wheat field. However, to harvest them profitably, a person would need an acorn dryer, a cracking machine, a grinder, soaking tanks, a drying area, and finally packing. They are an excellent food source and do not require Round Up or pesticides to grow. Simply burning the fallen leaves in place keeps the grubs population under control.
On the topic of bitterness, I’d be curious about a article maybe discussing why people tend to dislike bitter foods but like bitter drinks. As someone who has never enjoyed any kind of bitter drink, it’s crazy to me that people go out of their way to make them more bitter on purpose like by adding hops to beer.
Acorns were a major part of the diet of the prehistoric Jomon people of Japan. They used water to get rid of the tannins. Some of the booms and busts in Jomon population is tied to climate shifts effecting oak trees. Of course the arrival of rice and the people who farmed it pushed acorns out of favor.
Little kid me – like maybe grade 3 or 4. Teacher told us about how the Indians ate acorns. On the school playground was an ‘acorn tree’ (oak). I have no idea if it was red or white oak. it was central California if that helps. I found an acorn on the ground and thought. Ooh! This is what teacher said the Indians ate. So I tried eating it. G-R-O-S-S-! It wasn’t until many years later I learned about leaching the tannins. It is just head knowledge though because I’ve never had a desire to try acorns again even though I know where some are near where I live now.