National Pecan Day

Whether eaten on their own or included as part of a myriad of creations in the kitchen, the pecan tree yields a versatile nut that is the only naturally occurring major nut tree in North America. While they began in the US, they have since been planted on every continent except for Antarctica. Even so, it is still estimated that 80% of the world’s supply of pecans comes from the United States.

Healthful and delicious, pecans are a treat that has an interesting history as well as a tasty future!

How to Celebrate Pecan Day

Just a little bit of thought can encourage people to come up with all kinds of creative ways to show their love for pecans – like grabbing a handful to munch on, adding them to salads, making a delightful pecan pie, eating pecan crusted fish for dinner, or having pecan ice cream!

Take part in celebrating Pecan Day by using some of the following ideas, or come up with some creative ones of your own in honor of the day:

Throw a Pecan Day Party

Invite some friends and family over and share the joy by throwing a fun Pecan Day party! Pecans are a wonderful party snack that can be served in a variety of styles such as popular praline-flavoured pecans. Pecans are extremely versatile because they work with many different flavors, whether sweet or savory, spicy or mild.

Delectable items that could happily be served at a Pecan Day party include:

• Pecan Pie (a pastry pie crust with corn syrup and pecan filling)
• Pralines (nuts coated in sugar, corn syrup, milk and butter)
• Pecan-crusted Fish (tilapia, salmon, trout, halibut, or others)
• Pecan Turtles (candy treat with chocolate and caramel)
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies
• Chicken Salad Sandwiches (made with pecans, grapes and mayonnaise)

For more recipes, try the website for the American Pecan Council, offering not only recipe ideas but much more information about the entire pecan industry.

Grow a Pecan Tree

Plant a lovely and productive pecan tree to make it a memorable day to always come back to. If planting a sapling, it may take an average of 6-7 years to see a yield of nuts, so it’s a long-term investment to wait for the harvest. But certainly, it’s a worthwhile investment that is good for providing food as well as putting oxygen back into the air and doing something good for the earth.