Illustration by Vivienne Lee
HISTORY
The story of pecans is as old as the story of this land now known as America.
The pecan — from the Algonquian word “pacane,” meaning to crack with a rock — is native to North America and was a staple of the Native American diet and economy long before the white man arrived on the continent. It was so important to the so-called settlers that during the Revolutionary War, General Washington sent troops to protect a nursery of American pecan trees. In the postbellum South, pecans represented a stable source of income for a devastated economy, producing a reliable crop that brought a great and steady yield.
Today, this tender, crunchy member of the hickory family is a vital component of the agricultural economy throughout the South, most notably in Texas, where the state tree is a pecan tree. The United States produces 85 to 90 percent of the pecans consumed worldwide.
WHAT TO BUY
Like all tree crops, pecans are seasonal, with harvests beginning in September and dwindling in the first weeks of November.
Fresh, in-shell nuts have the best flavor and longest shelf life. Out of the shell, look for uniformly plump pecans. Store them, refrigerated, for about nine months, or frozen for up to two years. High concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants make pecans a nutrient-rich food source, beneficial for combating high cholesterol and other heart-related illnesses.
The crop this season in Georgia, the leading pecan-producing state in the country, was cut short by significant damage from hurricane Irma, so, for a time, it may be harder than usual to find good ones.
HOW TO PREPARE
A nutcracker will produce two wrinkly halves from a thinnish, cylindrical shell; from there, the pecan can be eaten either raw or toasted.
Toasting on a sheet tray in an oven preheated to 350 yields a more consistently toasted nut than does pan-toasting.
In a pie or praline — where the nut truly shows its stuff, in our considered opinion — the pecan’s mellow, earthy flavor offsets the sticky sweetness of molasses and caramel. Pecans can also add healthy protein to salads, stuffings and roasted Brussels sprouts.
Click here for an exclusive Salted Caramel Pecan Babka recipe by Whisk baker Arley Arrington.
