Nuts of all kinds have loads of nutritional value. Pecans for sale are no exception. These tasty, hickory morsels grown in the deep southern United States contain antioxidants, plant sterols and omega-6 fatty acids. Eating a small handful every day can help to reduce cholesterol as well as some cholesterol-fighting pharmaceuticals. Scientists have not yet commented on whether butter pecan ice cream or pecan pie fulfill this important function.
Speaking biologically, the pecan is not truly a nut. It is a drupe; a drupe is a type of fruit. It has a skin and a fleshy center around a hard endocarp, within which lies a seed. In most drupes, such as plums, nectarines, peaches and cherries, the endocarp and seed are inedible. This is not true with the pecan, which is the part we eat.
The seeds from the drupe, which are sweet and have a buttery flavor, are edible either fresh or incorporated into recipes, mostly desserts. The wood from the pecan tree is used for making furniture and wooden flooring. It is also burned and used as a fuel for smoking meats. In addition to the southern states, the pecan tree is native to Mexico. The word, “pecan, ” means a nut that needs a stone to crack it.
Georgia is one of the American states that we have to thank for our pecan delicacies. They are grown mainly in the southwest part of the state in Albany. Other products of the Peach State are, well, peaches, as well as pine timber, tobacco, cotton, peanuts, rye, poultry and hogs. Georgia is famous for the Dukes of Hazzard, Gone With the Wind and former President Jimmy Carter.
Alabama, the Heart of Dixie and the yellowhammer state, is also a prolific nut producer. Alabama, the “cotton state, ” also produces peaches, sorghum, soybeans and peanuts. Alabama gets roughly 20 million visitors each year, about 100,000 of whom are from other countries including Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. The first rocket that brought astronauts to the moon was built by workers in Alabama.
The northernmost state where you can find pecan trees is Iowa, the heartland of America. Iowa is the nation’s largest producer of corn and ethanol. Its other exports include oats, soybeans, hogs and cattle. Major non-economic contributors to the state’s economy are the insurance and finance industries. Iowa is the only state bordered by a river on two sides.
Louisiana gives us the New Orleans Saints, Mardi Gras, the Superdome and the praline, a gooey delicacy made from the blessed pecan. It also has a complex and fascinating geological history. With a strong French heritage, Louisiana models its electoral practices after those in France.
Every November on the first full weekend, Louisiana holds a Pecan Festival. Between 60,000 and 70,000 visitors flock to the area to eat pecans and be reined over by a king and queen. The royal couple are selected the previous October in a Louisiana Pecan Festival Beauty and Beau Pageant, the sole purpose of which is to select the king and queen of the festival. You could say that pecans bring a lot of money into the state; and that ain’t peanuts!
You can visit littleduckfarms.com for more helpful information about Where Pecans For Sale Come From.