Sometimes you feel like a nut – as in a pecan
By Tom Adkinson
November 19, 2021

The basic pecan pie recipe is simple, but you can find many variations. Image by Georgia Pecan Commission

ALBANY, Georgia – Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and it’s very likely that a pecan pie is in your future. There’s a good chance that pie’s signature ingredient came from a pecan tree not far from this town in southwest Georgia.

Approximately 90 million pounds are harvested in the U.S. annually, and one-third comes from Georgia. Image by Georgia Pecan Commission.

Georgia’s pecan crop is so substantial that some people believe Georgia’s nickname should be the Pecan State instead of the Peach State. Bolstering that idea, farfetched as it may be, is the fact that South Carolina usually produces more than three times the peaches that Georgia does.

However, let’s get back to pecans, especially considering that the U.S. produces approximately 80 percent of the world’s supply.

All 15 states with commercial pecan operations are in the Sunbelt, and they produce almost 90 million pounds of the succulent morsels every year. That’s a lot of pecan pies, pecan log rolls (think Stuckey’s), pecan pralines, pecan brittle and more.

More than one-third of those 90 million pounds comes from Georgia. Next in line are Texas and New Mexico. A shady spread of land in New Mexico, Stahmann Farms near Las Cruces, says it is the single largest pecan grower (180,000 trees delivering 8 to 10 million pounds per year).

There are more than 600,000 pecan trees in and around Albany, leading some to proclaim it America’s pecan capital.

Rest assured that commercial pecan operations are more mechanized than this one-nut-at-a-time sheller. Image by Georgia Pecan Commission.

Pecan trees are native to North America, and they have been popular for centuries. Thomas Jefferson, famous for bringing wine grapes to Virginia, imported pecan trees from Louisiana to Monticello. Virginia’s wine industry has taken off in recent decades, but not pecans.

Georgia’s pecan industry began evolving in the early 1900s. It was well established by the 1920s and was flourishing commercially by the 1950s. Plant scientists developed different varieties, leading to more demand and production. Of the hundreds of varieties, several are named for Native American tribes, among them Cheyenne, Mohawk, Sioux, Choctaw and Shawnee.

Georgians tout one bit of pecan trivia from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The handles of the torches that carried the Olympic flame around the world from Athens (the one in Greece, not the one in Georgia) to Atlanta were made of pecan wood.

Stuckey’s retail stores, now making a comeback, were part of American travel even before interstate highways. Image by Stuckey’s Corp.

Autumn harvest continues into December, and you’ll find bags, sacks and tins of pecans at virtually every market, festival and roadside produce stand throughout Georgia.

Ellis Bros. Pecans in Vienna, northeast of Albany and just off I-75, is among the popular pecan destinations for travelers. It’s a family business begun in 1944 that has grown from 60 acres to 3,000. Among its pecan varieties are Pawnee, Oconee, Caddo, Creek and its very own Ellis variety.

Regardless of whether you stock up on pecans while on a road trip or buy them close to home, try a pecan pie recipe from the Georgia Pecan Commission and enjoy Thanksgiving. You always can exercise the calories away later.