Editing Oak (section)

=== Culinary ===

[[Barrel (storage)|Barrels]] for [[Aging barrel|aging]] wines, [[sherry]], and spirits such as [[brandy]] and [[Scotch whisky]] are made from oak, with [[single barrel whiskey|single barrel malt whiskies]] fetching a premium.<ref name="Piggott 2003">Piggott, John R.; Conner, John M. "Whiskies." Fermented beverage production. Boston, Massachusetts: Springer, 2003. 239–262.</ref> The use of [[oak (wine)|oak in wine]] adds a range of flavours. Oak barrels, which may be charred before use, contribute to their contents' colour, taste, and aroma, imparting a desirable oaky [[vanillin]] flavour. A dilemma for wine producers is to choose between French and American oakwoods. French oaks (''Quercus robur'', ''Q.&nbsp;petraea'') give greater refinement and are chosen for the best, most expensive wines. American oak contributes greater texture and resistance to ageing, but produces a more powerful bouquet.<ref>Pérez-Prieto, Luis J., et al. "Extraction and formation dynamic of oak-related volatile compounds from different volume barrels to wine and their behavior during bottle storage." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 51.18 (2003): 5444–5449.</ref><ref>Perez‐Prieto, Luis Javier, et al. "Oak‐matured wines: influence of the characteristics of the barrel on wine colour and sensory characteristics." Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 83.14 (2003): 1445–1450.</ref>

Oak wood chips are used for [[smoking (cooking)|smoking]] foods such as fish, meat, and [[cheese]].<ref name="Varlet Prost Serot 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Varlet |first1=Vincent |last2=Prost |first2=Carole |last3=Serot |first3=Thierry |title=Volatile aldehydes in smoked fish: Analysis methods, {{as written|occur|rence [sic]}} and mechanisms of formation |journal=Food Chemistry |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=105 |issue=4 |year=2007 |issn=0308-8146 |doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.03.041 |pages=1536–1556}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guillén |first1=Marı́a D. |first2=Manzanos |last2=Marı́a J. |title=Study of the volatile composition of an aqueous oak smoke preparation |journal=Food Chemistry |volume=79 |issue=3 |year=2002 |pages=283–292|doi=10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00141-3 }}</ref> 
In Japan, [[Children's Day]] is celebrated with {{transliteration|ja|[[Kashiwa-mochi]]}} rice cakes, filled with a sweet red bean paste, and wrapped in a {{transliteration|ja|kashiwa}} oak leaf.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travel-around-japan.com/j54-confectionery.html |title=Japanese confectionery |website=Travel Around Japan |access-date=27 September 2024}}</ref>
The bark of the [[cork oak]] is used to produce cork stoppers for [[wine]] bottles. This species grows around the [[Mediterranean Sea]]; [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], [[Algeria]], and [[Morocco]] produce most of the world's supply.<ref name="Amorim">{{cite web |title=Mitos e curiosidades |url=https://www.amorim.com/a-cortica/mitos-e-curiosidades/Quanto-tempo-vive-um-sobreiro/110/400/ |publisher=[[Corticeira Amorim|Amorim]] |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref>

Acorns of various oak species have been used as food for millennia, in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and among the native peoples of North America. In North Africa, acorns have been pressed to make acorn oil: the [[cooking oil|oil]] content can be as high as 30%. Oaks have also been used as [[fodder]], both leaves and acorns being fed to livestock such as pigs. Given their high tannin content, acorns have often been leached to remove tannins before use as fodder.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bainbridge |first1=David A. |title=1 Use of Acorns for Food in California: Past, Present, Future |journal=1 Use of Acorns for Food in California: Past, Present, Future David A. Bainbridge, Dry Lands Research Institute, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 Proceedings of the Symposium on Multiple-use Management of California's Hardwoods, November 12-14, 1986, San Luis Obispo, California |date=1986 |pages=453–458 |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=f2e579544c5078e581b28acb81396811d6ae7827}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=200px heights=200px>
File:Sherry cellar, Solera system, 2003.jpg|[[Sherry]] maturing in [[barrel (storage)|oak barrels]] 
File:Cork oak trunk section.jpg|A cross section of the trunk of a [[cork oak]], ''[[Quercus suber]]'', showing the thick spongy bark used for making wine bottle corks
File:Kashiwa-mochi.jpg|[[Kashiwa-mochi]] rice cake wrapped in oak leaf, Japan
</gallery>