2026-10-16 13:19 UTC
As a feral Iberian
Huh! So you’re on the Spanish / Portu Iberian peninsula, living a feral life? 😮
I remember reading about acorns in My Side of the Mountain, about a pre-teen boy who runs away and lives in the mountains for a season. IIRC acorns are really acidic, and need to be soaked, or something to get the tannins out in order to be edible. Those same tannins were evidently really handy for making leather, though.
In Medieval Europe, I believe there were also some leather preparation steps that involved urine and something else that smelled pretty darn foul. Gotta love the end-result, tho!
Ah, acorns… XD
Replies (2)
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@redhorsejacket@lemmy.world 2026-10-16 16:30
Don’t mind me, just here to updoot My Side of the Mountain. I remember reading that, and at least one of its sequels, way back in grade school. I wonder if it’s due for a comeback. Seems like it would fit into “cozy lit” quite well, with its low stakes and ridiculously competent protagonist.
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@schmorpel@slrpnk.net 2026-10-16 15:09
Three soaks and cooking in milk haven’t brought good results. Not acidic, but adstringent. Acorn coffee isn’t bad. It was too tempting to experiment with them as they sit right on my driveway and the equines would get too fat if they ate them. I’m not feral enough for them yet. Leather unfortunately needs a lot of moving about besides the soaking in tannines, as far as I know.