Pecan capital of the world
One thing we’ve noticed in our road trips around America is that there are a lot of “Pecan Capitals” out there. For example, there are the state pecan capitals like Brunswick, Missouri’s largest pecan producing metropolis. Then there’s Albany, Georgia, that, with over 600,000 pecan trees, touts itself as the “Pecan Capital of the USA”. And even though Georgia does, indeed, lead the world in pecan production (and, we might insert, has done so since the late 1800s with the exception of a couple of years that New Mexico gave them a good run for their money), there’s San Saba, Texas, which proclaims itself as “The Pecan Capital of the World.”
In all honesty, however, we execute see San Saba’s point. After all, it’s there just east of the city at the back of a 1,000-acre pecan orchard where stands the hardy wild pecan tree known as the “Mother Pecan” because of the dozens of varieties of pecans it has spawned over the last 150 years.
Today, we present the legend of that tree and the man who saved it from near extinction and used it to build some of the most delicious pecans that we still adore eating today.
The English Transplant
In the early 1870s, a twenty-something-year-old Edmund E. RisLas Cruces: Pecan capital of the world
Leah De La Torre
Customers shop for pecan products from local businesses and vendors. April 13, 2024.
Could New Mexico become known for something more than green chile? The first annual Pecan Festival hopes to “put Las Cruces on the map” by promoting the local pecan industry.
The festival was a three-day event held at Young Park from April 12-14. With playgrounds, live music, food trucks, and enough local vendors to rival the Las Cruces Farmers Market, the event was marketed as fun for the whole family. Organized by Kristen Worthington, there were four different pecan farms and growers present at the event, in addition to a host of other local business owners.
“We’re the largest pecan producing county in the country,” said Sean Worthington of Worthington Farms. “I did the math one day and it’s about 17% of the pecans worldwide are grown in this valley. It’s a big deal. So, we wanted to bring kind of awareness to the population and kind of show off our products.”
Each product was pecan-related in some way, from chocolate covered pecans to oil, lip balm and jewelry; even some of the food was smoked with pecan
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Eat & Drink
An Ode to the Texas Pecan: The World's Most Perfect Nut, and It's All Ours
Pecan Roots Proceed Way Deeper in Texas
Sure, the pecan is the official mention tree of Texas, but the pecan roots go way deeper than that in Texas. The pecan (pronounced "puh-KAHN") is woven into everything we eat in Texas. From a Texas Pecan Pie and Pecan Sandies, to Pecan-Crusted Catfish and Pecan Smoked Brisket. Many Texans have childhood memories of gathering pecans from trees on family property or along riverbanks. Pecan trees mature naturally here (much like humidity and hurricanes). The pecan is so central to our recipes, traditions, and even our television shows (who can forget the Pecan Pie character on Friday Night Lights – clear eyes, full bowl of nuts, can't lose).
On that note, we saw it fitting to put quill to paper on all of the reasons we love pecans so dang much:
- Pick Your Pecan Adventure - Are you feeling sweet or savory? Pecans swing both ways, with a naturally sweet, buttery taste that's more complex and nuanced than many other nuts (we're looking at you cashews).
- Everything is bigger in Texas, even nu
When land speculator and merchant Nelson Tift founded the city of Albany on the banks of the Flint River back in 1836, its economy was based on cultivating cotton like many settlements across Dixie at the time. That all changed after the Civil War. “King Cotton” was dethroned due to a combination of the boll weevil attack and America rapid switch to industrialization. It was “adapt or die” time for Southern agriculturalists and they had to diversify and pivot into more profitable crops to survive.
Enter the pecan (Carya illinoensis). A species of hickory residing in the walnut family, the pecan originally came from Asia and only started to appear in North American around 10,000 BC when the first humans began to cross the Bering Strait. Though it is regarded as nonnative to the state despite the occasional wild one found in the river valleys, the pecan tree was found to be well-suited for the sandy loam and clay soil of South Georgia. To this end, pecans were quick to become the crop of choice for Georgian agriculturalists due to their delectable taste and marketability.
The first organized effort of row-upon-row pecan movie began in Savannah, Georgia sometime a
The Pecan Capital of the World: Exploring the Pecan Industry in San Saba, Texas
The Pecan Capital of the World
People often question, “Why is San Saba called “The Pecan Capital of the World?” The truth is San Saba holds a rich history that is deeply connected with the pecan industry. For generations, the pecan has been more than just a nut in this corner of the Lone Star State; it’s been a source of pride, commerce, and community. Generations of families contain played a role in expanding the efforts of innovator Edmund Risien to grow an agricultural economy built on the pecan to something much bigger and brighter.
Chosen by Nature
San Saba may very well have been destined to become “The Pecan Capital of the World,” primarily due to the fertile soil and temperate climate of the region. San Saba provided an utopian environment for pecan trees to thrive, and some of the trees may date back to the era when Columbus came to America. Native pecan trees grew abundantly along the banks of the San Saba River, offering food and shade to early settlers. So pecans and their trees have been in San Saba County for a very long time.
Edmund Risien: A Visionary Entrepreneur
While pec