Cultural Glimpse

On the way home from school, I noticed large size acorns scattered on the sidewalk under an oak tree. Their shiny smooth shell was inviting, but I wondered if they were edible or if they were mostly intended for chipmunks. I cracked open a nut and tasted the meat of it. It was definitely edible, and tasted familiar.

I gathered a bunch into the pouch attached to my son’s bike, and told my children, “Today we will roast acorns on an open fire.”

Most people do not eat acorns as a snack, but they are delicious and nutritious, and a long time ago they were a staple in the diet of Native Americans. They have many benefits. They have been found to possibly be the best food to effectively control blood sugar levels. They are a good source of fiber and they are lower in fat than most other nuts.

My friend stopped by my house for tea just as I finished roasting the nuts. When I showed them to her, she said, “That’s baloot!”

“I knew they looked and tasted familiar,” I said, having forgotten that we ate them regularly in Iraq. But in Iraq they were not bitter like they were now. I googled how to best roast acorns and it turned out that first you have to boil them repeatedly until the water no longer contains any trace of the brown tannic acid.

Oh well, I’ll do a better job with the next acorn harvest!