Pecans
Natural & Organic
| Images: (Click to Enlarge) |
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| Grades: | Fancy, Choice |
| Styles: | Raw, Roasted, Roasted & Salted, Seasoned |
| Sizes: | Halves - Mammoth, Junior Mammoth Pieces - Mammoth, XL, M, S, Meal |
| Packaging: | Bulk - net weight 30lb Food Service - 5lb / 10lb / 24lb / 25lb Retail Tub and Stand-up Pouch |
| Origin: | Peru, USA |
| Background: | Pecan (Carya Illinoensis) is the common name for a species of hickory belonging to the walnut family. It is the only major tree nut naturally grown in North America and one of the most valuable of nut species. It traces its fossil origins back at least 8000 years to major streams and irrigation canals in Texas and the northern part of Mexico. From this region, propagation spread north and east, possibly carried by crows that prefer the thin-shelled nuts and can carry them many miles. The name pecan is of Native American origin, deriving from the Algonquin word “pacane”, meaning “nut to be cracked with a rock.” Wild pecans were a major food source for various tribes, whose activities and settlements in the fall and winter followed the maturing harvest of the wild trees. The U.S. government has recognized this close historical link, as improved varieties of pecans have been named after various Indian tribes. The first recorded history of pecans dates to a diary from the 1540s of Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca, shipwrecked on Galveston Island. Other prominent explorers including Hernando de Soto also noted the abundance of wild pecans. As French and Spanish colonists settled in northern Mexico and along the Gulf of Mexico, cultivation expanded. The French settlement of New Orleans became a prominent natural market and redistribution point for pecans to other parts of the new colonies and beyond. By the late 1700s, propagation had spread to the Atlantic Seaboard, with plantings in English settlements and gardens of prominent colonists including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Speculation is that Spanish colonists likely exported pecans from northern Mexico to the West Indies and other Spanish settlements. |
| Background: | A natural high quality food source, pecans are a particularly good source of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. These fats are considered heart healthy for their ability to help reduce LDL (bad) blood cholesterol. They contain plant components with antioxidant properties and plant sterols which slow the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Additionally, pecans provide a wide range of nutritional benefits, containing over 19 vitamins and minerals, and are also a good source of vitamin E and fiber. They are one of the few plant based sources of zinc, an important nutrient for proper growth and strong immunity. Pecans have a long history of use in the confectionery industry. Upon settling in New Orleans, the French created pecan pie and pecan pralines after being introduced to the nut by Native Americans. Pecans have come to be associated with fine confections and desserts like turtle candy and butter pecan ice cream, but are now widely used in a variety of bakery applications, as part of nut and snack mixes, trail mixes and for cereal and granolas. |
