How to Shell Acorns

This acorn must be shelled before it can be used in a recipe.

Acorn flour is a historical staple in many Native American diets, and is still used by people to day to make a variety of breads and other baked goods. All Oak trees produce edible acorns. Before you can grind them into flour, however, you must first shell them. This is an easy process that can be accomplished with a nutcracker. Does this Spark an idea?

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Dull knife
Nutcracker
Bowl

Instructions

- 1
  
  Pry the cap off of each acorn with a dull knife.
- 2
  
  Rinse the acorns to remove any contaminants.
- 3
  
  Place each acorn into a nutcracker.
- 4
  
  Squeeze the jaws of the nutcracker together until the shell cracks open.
- 5
  
  Finish opening the shell by hand and drop the acorn meat into a bowl. You may have to use the knife to further open some of the shells. If a brown, corklike layer remains on the meat, peel it off.