We all know that the oak trees in The Forest, our beautiful home, are what provide us with our favorite thing to eat: acorns. But there’s a problem. Even though we have plenty of oaks providing us with sustenance, not all of them provide a delicious nut.
Have you ever been in a situation where you searched the whole forest for that one scarlet oak tree just to get a taste of its delicious acorn, but once you get there all of the acorns on the tree are gone and the ones on the ground are from the white oak next to it? Well, I have. Many times. And I will not allow myself to consume another bad acorn.
If you do not know this already, the many different types of oak trees provide us with different tasting acorns. Some acorns are long and narrow, while others are short and round. Some have a small cup, while others are nearly completely covered by their cups. We seem to have a great variety in The Forest, with the most common trees being the northern red, black, scarlet, pin, white, swamp white, chestnut, bear and dwarf chinquapin oaks, all native to New Jersey.
Still, even though we have all of these options for our acorns, only one can be the best.
While this may be taken to be controversial by some, the best acorn by far is one from a scarlet oak tree. The shape is round and stout, they are easy to hold since they are quite small and they have a cup that covers half of the acorn. I am aware that the white oak acorns are a popular choice amongst our squirrel community because they are lighter, longer and larger, which provides more to eat. However, contrary to popular opinion, I believe the scarlet acorn provides a deeper, more flavorful experience, with notes of delicious woodiness and darkness. I also feel that the more the cup covers the acorn, the purer the taste. Therefore, the white oak’s exposed acorn is unappealing.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference. The way we choose our acorns is similar to how humans choose their coffee: dark roast or light roast, black or with milk, hot or iced. We all know the true coffee lovers would say that a black dark roast is the best. I feel that way about the scarlet oak acorn. However, I will not force my opinion onto my fellow squirrels. In fact, if you disagree with me, there will be more scarlet acorns for me.
All opinions aside, I think we can all agree that no matter which tree the acorn falls from, the best tasting are fresh, uncracked and not already half-eaten acorns. There are way too many that are trampled on by the tyrant humans. So, if you are unable to find an acorn from your favorite tree and have to settle for a different taste, don’t settle for the crushed acorns even if you may be truly starving. In the end, it is worth the effort to find the perfect fresh acorn from any tree.
