a brief HISTORY OF
PECANS
by Philip McIntosh
The official nut of no less than four states , pecans are much admired around the globe . Their nuts provide a healthy snack , while the wood is used for furniture and flooring .
The pecan tree , a type of hickory , that goes by the scientific name Carya illinoinensis , is a member of the Juglandaceae , the walnut family . Pecans trees look a lot like walnut and hickory trees similar in both stature and compound leaf morphology . Unlike walnuts , pecan nuts have a smooth indistinctly four-seamed oblong shell that is more pointed at one end than the other . Walnuts are more wrinkled in appearance and are clearly composed of two halves . If you look closely , the shape of the nut meat inside a pecan shell is in two halves , very much like that of a walnut . The word pecan comes from the Illinois ( Algonquin ) Indian word for pecan , pakani , which was modified down to pecane by Creole speaking folks . It didn ’ t take much effort to drop the trailing e to end up with “ pecan .” So how do you pronounce it , anyway ? PEE-can , Peh-CAN , Pee-CON , or peh-CON — it doesn ’ t matter , they are all correct .
Native Americans collected pecans for centuries , but Spanish explorers first came into contact with pecan trees during the 1600s in what is now Louisiana , Texas , and Mexico . From there they took them back to Europe and the pecan has spread around the world since then . Pecans are much admired in southern states where they are commonly found in community parks , along river banks , and planted in orchards . The pecan is the official state nut of Texas , Alabama , Arkansas , and California . It seems that one nut is not enough for California which also has three other state nuts . Texas also proclaims the pecan to be the state “ health nut ” and pecan pie the state pie . Being native to the southern U . S . and northern Mexico , one wonders how they got the specific epithet “ illinoinensis ,” which means more-or-less “ from Illinois ” or “ found in Illinois .” If you look at a map of the natural range of the pecan , you will see is does stretch up into the southern reaches of Illinois and they were known as “ Illinois nuts ” for some reason by early growers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson . Speaking of growing , it takes a long time to grow a pecan tree and at least seven to 10 years before they produce much in the way of nuts . And as is true of so many tree species , you can ’ t count on the progeny to be like the parents so it is too risky planting pecan from seed ( you might find out after a decade that the trees are poor producers or don ’ t taste as expected ). Grafting is the main way pecan trees are propagated . Sure , you can eat pecans just as they are , even ones that have been laying on the ground after they fell off the tree last year .
The thin-shelled varieties are preferred for eating out of hand . Let ’ s not forget about pralines , which are pecans ( originally hazelnuts or almonds ) mixed up with a gooey coating made from sugar , butter , and cream or milk . Like many nuts , pecans are high in protein and fat , with just shy of 200 calories in about eight shelled nuts . Throw in the typical array of vitamins and minerals and pecans come out looking pretty good . What else is a pecan good for besides making pecan pies or pecan ice cream ? Pecan wood has a beautiful grain and is used by woodworkers for furniture and flooring . It is a medium hardness wood of moderate strength . Pecan is considered a good substitute for oak , mahogany , and walnut . It is much prized by grillers to make pecan wood smoked meats . Some say it is a great firewood , while others say not so much since it contains more water than other woods and tends to pop and throw off embers if not adequately dried . Whether used for food , furniture , or fire , the pecan tree is truly an American classic .
54 Maximum Yield