Anna Sara Hill, Horticulture Extension Agent
One of the highlights of fall are pecans and all the culinary “tidbits” made with them. For centuries people have enjoyed the nut’s rich buttery flavor. Native Americans used the pecans as an important food source for thousands of years and used them as trade items. The word pecan is derived from an Algonquin name “Pecane” which means “all nuts requiring a stone to crack”. Most of today’s pecan varieties are named after Native American tribes.
Pecans are in the same family as Walnuts and in the same genus as Hickories. They are native and unique to North America. They grew in great forests along the region of the Mississippi River Valley and extended from northern Illinois to southeast Iowa and south to the gulf coast. Remnants of some of the historically large groves of native pecans that grew in the river bottoms of Texas and northern Mexico, can still be found today.
The early explorers and colonists recognized the importance of the pecan and made attempts to cultivate them. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both planted and grew pecans at their respective Virginia plantations. Washington enjoyed the nuts so much that he carried them in his coat pocket and ate them as snacks. During a trip to Paris, Thomas Jefferson requested a large supply be shipped to him, specifying they arrive “as fresh as possible”. After the Civil War, the Union soldiers took pecans back to their respective states.
As pecans grew in popularity and became more widespread farmers and botanists would save and plant the nuts from their favorite tree only to find out years later that the new tree was different than the original. Some of the variations included differences in leaf shape, nut size and shape, uniformity, quality, and taste. The search for a solution to this cultivation problem began. The first recorded attempt to graft a pecan tree was made in 1819, by a French explorer and botanist Andre Michaux. He tried to graft a pecan limb into a black walnut trunk. This experiment did not work out, but the idea of pecan grafting to obtain a uniform tree persisted. In 1822, Dr. Abner Landrum of Edgefield SC, successfully propagated pecan trees by grafting pecan buds to young hickory trees. Unfortunately, at the time there was not a market for his trees in the area, and he moved onto other interests. Approximately twenty years later, a tree was successfully grafted in New Orleans that would become the world’s first acknowledged pecan variety. A slave named Antoine that lived at Oak Alley Plantation near New Orleans grafted budwood from a verdant pecan tree that grew at Anita Plantation which was located across the river from Oak Alley. Antoine was known as a Master of Plants and had superior gardening skills. Eventually he successfully grafted 126 pecan trees at Oak Alley. The nuts from one of those trees were exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876 and was awarded a certificate commending the nuts “remarkably large size tenderness of shell, and very special excellence”. The variety was named “Centennial.”
Thereafter, many farmers began grafting new varieties and the commercial pecan industry took off in the South as an alternative to “King Cotton.” Today there are over 1,000 pecan varieties which are planted in 15 states and on every continent except Antarctica. The U.S. produces between 80-90% of the world’s pecans. Georgia has been the top producing pecan state in the U.S. since the 1950, and still leads the nation today with over 170,000 acres planted. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, the U.S. pecan crop totaled 278 million pounds and was valued at $500 million in 2022.
Pecans are a protein rich nut packed with vitamins nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. They are also a good source of unsaturated fats such as oleic acid. They do not contain cholesterol. Whether eaten as a fresh or roasted snack, in a favorite recipe, a dessert, or as a confectionary sweet treat pecans are loved by many. The iconic Southern pecan pie became popular during the 19’th century. The first published recipe for a pecan pie was in 1886 by Harper’s Bazaar.
Over the years, pecans are an important part of the American culture. The state tree of Texas is the pecan tree. The state dessert of Texas and Oklahoma is pecan pie. Pecan is the state nut of Alabama, and Arkansas. National Pecan Day is April 14’th and July 12 is considered National Pecan Pie Day in the U.S. Pecans were taken to the moon twice by U.S. astronauts in the Apollo space mission.
The season for pecans and the holidays are upon us. Many rich pecan pies will be made and served. The historical tidbits of how the native pecan tree became a commercial commodity is as rich as the pie itself.
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