Spiced Pickled Acorns

Acorn recipes tend to be rather bland and boring. Most folk grind them into flour and add that to breads or as a thickener for stews and casseroles. For this acorn recipe I decided to do something a little different. Why not spice them up and pickle them.

So there I was starring at my freshly processed batch of acorns and wondering what on earth I could do with them. Then a flash of Pickled Walnuts came to mind. “Ah-ha” I thought. These crafty acorns had just revealed how they wanted to be preserved.

For this acorn recipe I used English Oak (Quercus robur), however I think that acorns from Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) might go down rather well too because they contain less tannin and therefore require less processing, which would result in a firmer pickled acorn.

Ingredients


550g whole/halved acorns (Must be processed so tannin is removed)
6tsp sea salt
500ml malt vinegar
150g sugar
½tsp ground black pepper
½tsp ground allspice
½tsp ground cloves
½tsp ground cinnamon
1tbsp freshly grated ginger

Suggested Instructions


Cover acorns in salted water for 24 hours.
Strain and allow to air dry for a few hours.
In a pan add the black pepper, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, grated ginger and malt vinegar. Bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
Spoon acorns into jars, then cover with the spiced vinegar and seal.
If you get twitchy you can eat them after 14 days, but they are best if allowed to mature for between 3-6 months.