COOKING WITH MADJON: Is it “puh-kahn” or “pee-can”?
Whichever way you say “puh-kahn” or “pee-can” depends on what part of the United States you are from.
Today's phonetics is about the pecan along with some great recipes and some history about our native pecans.
My Daddy called it “puh-kahn” because a “pee-can” was what he used in the outhouse and he grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
In Georgia and South Carolina, I hear it's called a “pee-can.” Yankees call it a “puh-kahn,” which is what my mother called it.
Needless to say, I call it a “puh-kahn” – not because I'm from the South, but that's how I heard it named when I was a child at home.
Pecans are wonderful nuts; in the USA, we export about 80 percent of the world's pecans. The pecan is an American staple.
Native Americans are the ones who introduced this nut to the world. It got its name from the Native Americans – “algonquin,” which means a nut which requires a stone to crack it. It is native to America and part of the hickory nut family.
Another name for the pecan is “Mississippi nuts,” which is what George Washington and Thomas Jefferson called them.
Washington ate the nuts all of the time; he loved them from what I've read, so he planted these nut trees on his estates as did Jefferson. There are more than 1,000 varieties of pecan trees, and most of them were named after Native American Indian tribes. They can grow as tall as 150 feet.
An acre of pecan trees can yield up to 1,000 pounds of nuts. They can grow to be 1,000 years old, I've been told. Now that's a wise old nut tree.
During the Civil War, the pecan shells were used to make pecan coffee. I wonder if that coffee tasted bitter.
April is pecan month, but I think it should be December because we use a lot of pecans during our holiday season.
Pecans have been documented that they can help lower blood cholesterol levels so we can call them heart healthy.
What I like most about the pecan is that we get to eat and cook with this wonderful nut. Pecans can be cracked and eaten right out of the shell. You can roast them, as well as the shells, and grind the shells down for coffee.
You can make pies with them or spice them up and serve them in salads. They even coat them with dark chocolate.
I add them in my apple dumplings and add caramel to the mix. They are just a great tasty nut to use.
Any way you use or eat that tasty pecan from the South, I hope you try some of the recipes we have for you to serve at this wonderful time of year.
MadJon, or Eileen Hutson, is a local professional cook who stars in the ASTV show “Cooking with MadJon and Friends.” Visit her blog at cookingwithmadjon.blogspot.com.
Apple dumplings with caramel and pecans
3 apples cut in half and cored
2 pre-made pie crust, cut in 6-inch rings
1 cup of ice cream caramel sauce
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 tbsp. of cinnamon
Directions
Cut the apples in half and de-core them. Cut the pie crust in rings about 6 inches around. Melt the butter with the cinnamon and spread on the pie crust. Then dust the crust with the brown sugar and pecans. Pour some caramel sauce on top of the pecans. Then wrap the outside of the apples with the pie crust and put some sugar and caramel sauce with chopped pecans on the apples. Place dumplings on a rimmed greased cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to about 350 degrees and bake the dumplings for about 40 minutes or until the apple is tender and crust is nice and brown.
Apple, feta cheese, spiced pecans and greens salad
1 head of red leaf lettuce, torn
1 head of Boston lettuce, torn
1 red apple, finely diced
1 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
Spiced pecans
3 tbsp. of melted butter
1 tsp. of seasoned salt
1 tsp. of cinnamon
3 dashes of hot sauce
½ tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
Dressing
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup wine vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
¼ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. honey
Directions
Melt the butter and mix it with the pecans and all the seasonings. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and bake the pecans on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. Cool down.
Mix your dressing starting with the wine vinegar, salt, mustard and honey. Mix until well blended. Blend the wine mixture with your oil. Serve at room temperature.
Mix your greens, apple, pecans, and feta cheese. Now pour your dressing over your greens and toss lightly. You may only use about half of the dressing so store it away in your cooler for use with your next salad. Serve salad immediately.
Christmas Caramel Pecan Pie
1 cup of light or dark karo corn syrup
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3 eggs beaten
1 tsp. of vanilla
3 tbsp. of melted butter
1 cup of caramel baking pellets
1/4 cup of cream
1 1/2 cups of pecans
1 pre-made pie crust (9 inches)
Directions
Mix the first four ingredients together. Toss in the pecans and mix. Then melt the butter, caramel and cream together till they are blended. Mix the caramel sauce with the first four ingredients. Pour into the pie crust. Bake pie in a preheated oven on 325 degrees for about 50 minutes or until the middle of the pie reaches a temperature of 200 degrees F. Cool pie and serve with your favorite topper. I like to add a chocolate sauce with mine.
Southern Roasted Sugared Pecans
1 egg white
1 tbsp. of water
1 tsp. of vanilla
½ cup of brown sugar
¼ tsp. of salt
1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2¼ cups of pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Beat the egg white and water until they are fluffy. Combine the sugar, salt, vanilla and spices together in a small bowl. Fold the pecans into the egg whites. Now toss the sugar mixture lightly with the pecans. Place them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake pecans for about 15 minutes, stirring pecans when they are about halfway through the cooking time. Cool pecans on pan and store in airtight container.
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