National Pecan Day

Thomas Jefferson planted pecan trees at Monticello and sent seeds to George Washington at Mount Vernon, who planted three trees still standing today. The commercial pecan industry, however, is a 20th-century creation. The first successful grafted pecan cultivar, 'Centennial', was bred in Louisiana in 1846; the modern commercial industry emerged after 1900 in Georgia, Texas, and parts of Alabama, where growing conditions align perfectly with the pecan tree's native climate.

Pecan pie, the most famous pecan dish, is a 19th-century Southern invention, likely originating in Texas or Louisiana as a way to use corn syrup, a cheap substitute for expensive cane sugar. The recipe on the Karo corn syrup bottle (first published in the 1930s) made pecan pie a universal American dessert. The pie is now so iconic it appears on Southern holiday tables from Thanksgiving to Easter, and is the signature dessert of several Southern states.

Georgia produces more pecans than any other state, roughly 40% of the US crop, with Texas second at 30%. The two states together grow about 80% of the American pecan supply, which is itself about 80% of the world's commercial pecan production. Pecan farming is largely concentrated in family-owned orchards; some Georgia farms have been growing pecans for four generations. The industry's biggest challenge today is climate change: Georgia pecan country is getting hotter and more humid, which favors disease and reduces yields.

Southern baking at its most iconic:

Where America grows its native nut: