Chapter 46 How to prepare and eat acorns

Chapter 46 How to prepare and eat acorns

It was noon now. Everyone ate some dry food, drank some water, went to the toilet, and rested for half an hour before continuing on their journey.

Lin Youcai didn't want to waste his breath, so he ignored what others said and went straight to the village head to talk about Acorn.

Lin Youcai: "Village Chief! Uncle Benshu!"

"Youcai, what's wrong?" Lin Benshu turned around and looked at Lin Youcai who was walking towards him with an excited look on his face.

"My daughter found something good, look." Lin Youcai handed over the acorn.

Lin Benshu picked up an acorn and said, "This is not a chestnut! This is a green fruit. You can't eat it. It's poisonous!"

Lin Youcai nodded to show that he understood what he meant and said, "People in our area don't eat this. You can only see it occasionally in the distant mountains. The ones we pick up in the mountains are chestnuts and chinensis. This thing looks similar to chinensis. It tastes astringent and bitter, so no one eats it. Village head, please take a look!"

The head of the village looked at him puzzledly, and Lin Youcai continued, "This fruit is called acorn, acorn nut, and in some places it is called Qinggangzi. There are many names. There are many varieties of this tree. The common point is that the fruit is edible, but it is very troublesome to handle. Unlike chestnuts and chestnuts, which can be eaten raw, you can cook or roast them. Acorn nut..." Talk about starch content? Can they understand? Forget it, "Acorn powder is a lot, more than bean powder. Eating it can fill your stomach. It is free rations." Acorns are the staple food of many people in mountainous areas. It is said that it is an "older" food than rice and wheat. However, with the development of human beings, the survival of the fittest, the staple food has been replaced by other crops.

The village head frowned: "Really? This is not something you can joke about!!"

"Village head, how dare I joke about this kind of thing while I am on the run? There is a poem that goes like this: In late autumn, the acorns ripen, scattering over the hazel hills.

The hunched old woman with grey hair picked it up and stepped on the morning frost.

When it is moved, it will begin to fill up, and the basket will be full when the sun is full.

It is boiled and steamed several times and used as food for the three winter months.

There is ripe rice in front of the mountain, with purple ears and a fragrant smell.

The rice is finely harvested and pounded, each grain is like a jade pendant.

He took it and handed it over to the government, and had no storage box in his private room.

How can one stone be used as five dou of rice? . . . . "

Butcher Zhao came over and said, "What's going on? Scholar Lin is reciting a poem!"

Lin Youcai continued: "A man named Zhuang, who was well-educated, said: "They pick acorns and chestnuts in the daytime and roost on trees at night, so they are called the people of Youchao. A poet named Du wrote: "The mountain fruits are small and varied, and acorns and chestnuts grow in a net." A poet named Zhao said: "Food is not as good as acorns and chestnuts, and clothes are not as good as linen." Another man named Han said: "There is a great famine in Qin. The grass, vegetables, acorns, dates and chestnuts in the five gardens are enough to feed the people. Please distribute them."

"Stop, stop, stop, stop... Stop it!" Lin Benshu felt overwhelmed after hearing this.

“In short, it’s edible. I know how to remove the astringency and bitterness and how to cook it so it’s edible.” Lin Youcai gave a simple summary as he looked at the increasing number of people gathering around him.

Lin Zisu came out from behind her father and said, "Dad, there's no need to make it so complicated! My family can eat the acorns first after they're ready, that's all!"

Tian Daniu looked at the acorn in Lin Youcai's hand with shining eyes. Although Lin Youcai said a lot of flowery words, he didn't understand. But this thing is more than bean powder, it is edible, Lin Youcai knows how to make it, he understood. "Lin Youcai said it is edible, it must be edible! Why did Lin Youcai lie to us? We are poor and penniless, and it won't be long before we run out of food."

"My family is the same. We don't have much food left. We can't go into the city and have no place to buy food!" Of course, even if there is a place to buy food, they don't have much money to buy food. Lin Youcai's second uncle's eldest son, his cousin Lin Youfeng said.

How could ordinary people in the village have surplus grain to sell? Those who were a little better off were reluctant to sell their surplus grain. It was good enough to have enough food for their own families. They had to pay grain taxes even though they had to eat their own food.

If you want to buy grain, you can only go to the grain store in the city. The big landlords and gentry have grain at home, so who would care about you, an ordinary citizen?

Sun Ergou frowned with sorrow and said, "What shall we do if winter comes? We have no food and no place to live. We will freeze to death or starve to death on the road."

Lin Youcai looked at everyone and said, "My daughter is right. It's useless to say so much! When the acorns are ready, my family will eat them first, and then everyone else will eat them, okay?"

"I dare to eat it. Once it's ready, I want to be the first to eat it." Tian Daniu quickly raised his hand.

After hearing what Lin Youcai said, the village head and Lin Benshu said nothing more. Lin Youcai had watched them grow up, and they were also relatives. Since he said so, there must be a way to make it edible.

The head of the village said: "Well, gather everyone together, tell us how to do it, and then we can go pick it up together."

Lin Youcai: "Okay, but the method is very troublesome."

"It's too late to bother with anything! We are so lucky to have enough food to eat!" Lin Benshu picked up the gong, "Ding ding ding! Everyone come over here and talk!"

The refugees passing by in twos and threes looked around curiously, but were driven away by the patrolling men.

When everyone gathered together, Lin Youcai looked at the refugees passing by, raised the acorn in his hand, and deliberately raised his voice: "This acorn can be eaten to fill your stomach. Its powder is the same as other grains. Acorn powder (starch) can be made into acorn vermicelli, acorn cakes, acorn tofu, acorn sauce, acorn jelly and other delicious foods. Acorns can also be used to make wine and soy sauce. It is very good to feed livestock. Livestock grow meat by eating acorns. Wild boars, squirrels and many other animals in the mountains love to eat acorns."

Tian Dazhuang was about to drool when Lin Xiucai said, "Tell me quickly, how do you do it?"

Lin Youcai: "It's not a very special method, it just requires repeated drying, washing, and steaming. Method one, pick up the acorns and soak them in water, changing the water every day. If conditions permit, put them in a place with flowing water, such as a stream or river, and put them in a basket or a crate so that they are not washed away by the water. Soak them for 3 or 4 days. When soaking acorns at home, the water should cover the acorns, and the water should be changed every day until the water becomes clear. Then peel them, remove the hard shell on the outside, and grind the kernels into pulp in a stone mill, rinse them repeatedly, and filter out the powder. The powder can be dried for later use, or directly added with water and boiled into a thick paste, scooped out and let cool. After cooling, you can cut it into thin strips or cubes, and add seasonings if you want, or eat it as it is without seasoning." Lin Youcai said it very loudly on purpose, hoping that passers-by would hear it and pick up acorns to fill their stomachs with acorn powder so that they would no longer starve to death.

Lin Xianwen considerately handed the water bag to his father. Lin Youcai gulped down the water, took a breath, and then continued, "We are on the road to escape. We have to hurry. We don't have the conditions to soak the fruits. We need other methods. Method two is to waste firewood. Boil it in water, boil it more and wash it more times, it's the same. Method three, pick up the acorns and dry them, remove the hard shells, grind the flesh into fine powder, sift out the coarse residue, and put it in a bag. When you want to eat it, rinse it with cold water several times to filter out the powder, then add water and boil it into a thick paste, scoop it out and let it cool. This is delicious with sweet, spicy or sour food!"

This time, everyone was unusually quiet, and they all listened to Lin Youcai carefully. They wanted to write down every word and run to pick up acorns immediately, which was free food, free food!!!

"Brother Youcai, my saliva is watering!" Zhao Wang, the second son of Butcher Zhao, broke the silence by smacking his lips and swallowing his saliva, looking at Lin Youcai with shining eyes.

Butcher Zhao turned around and asked: "Am I starving you?"

"No, Dad, this sounds so delicious!" Who wouldn't be greedy at this age of growing up?

"What else are you talking about! Go pick it up quickly!!!" Tian Dazhuang stood up impatiently. There are several mouths to feed in his family!