Monday, July 21, 2014

Where Pecans For Sale Come From

By Coleen Torres


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.

Iowa is probably the northernmost of the pecan-producing states. This is America's heartland. The largest producer of corn and ethanol, Iowa's other main products include hogs, soybeans, oats and cattle. Other healthy economic sectors are finance and insurance. Iowa is the only state bordered on two sides by rivers.

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.

The Louisiana Pecan Festival Beauty and Beau Pageant is an annual event held every October. The aim is to crown a king and queen to reign over the Pecan Festival itself, which runs over the first full weekend in November of each year. The event attracts between 60,000 and 70,000 visitors a year. The amount of tourist dollars the festival brings to the state sure isn't peanuts!




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