WHAT MAKES TEXAS "TEXAS"

by Ann Marie Kennon and Megan Diane Beatty

Pecans

There is good reason the pecan is the official tree of Texas. While trade records tell us pecans have been exported from the state since before the Civil War, there is also archaeological evidence the tree has been growing in Texas regions since prehistoric times. Today, it is native to more than half of Texas counties, including most of the river valleys, and it is the only commercially grown nut in the state. Plus, its leaves and coverage make it a wonderfully preferred shade tree in the Texas heat.

SOME HISTORY

For a long time, the pecan tree was not duly honored for its fruit and contributions because most were cut down to make room for more valuable cotton crops. On the plus side of that razing, pecan wood was handy for making farming tools and wagons. But, by 1904, when the state was in danger of losing them all together, the nut trade made a significant comeback and quickly became one of the leading money crops. That comeback grew to the point that the Texas Legislature declared the pecan the state tree twice; in 1919 and 1927.

In the years after, and fortunately for pecan growers, trees did not know they were in a Great Depression and Texas’ annual crops weighed in the tens of millions of pounds. With all that product,

Pecan trees produce nuts on alternate bearing years; one heavy, one light.

The trees can live to be over 200 years old.

One ounce of pecans provides 10 percent of your daily fiber intake.

The pecan is heart healthy and contains antioxidants, 19 vitamins and minerals and healthy fat.

One of the mineral components is zinc, which is important in producing testosterone in both males and females.

You can enjoy up to 200 of these beauties in a single pie.

growers and shelling companies in some of the more prolific cities and counties were able to keep as many as 15,000 people employed at any given time.

By 1945, Texas was producing about 30 percent of the nation's crop. While, prior to 1900, commercial shellers used railroad spikes to crack the shells and needles to pick out the meat, mechanization allowed growers to keep up with rising demand across the country. The result was as much as 75 percent of Texas' annual crop being exported north and east to satisfy a growing number of shelling and candy companies.

In the 1960s, growers had begun expanding into more counties, creating new varieties, using greater mechanical devices, and the state was up to 1.8 million trees. This led to a boom in commercial planting in the 1970s and state production began edging toward 100 million pounds annually.

TODAY

While Texas has slid to the #2 spot behind Georgia in total numbers, gathering pecans is still a major enterprise for many in the Lone Star State. At its simplest (and most fun) level, families bring buckets and pick up pecans around Georgetown or perhaps in their own yards. Commercially, they are collected by the millions by mechanical shakers or spread sheets under the trees to catch them.

All for a taste of Texas' favorite dessert flavor...

HEY, NEW TEXANS, THIS IS IMPORTANT... THIS IS A P’KAHN... THIS IS A PEA-CAN.

Tucked away in the Bertram Library since 2016 is a little gem known as Texas Pecan Cakes, owned by Will and Bridget McCoy. Library visitors may not see it right away but they need only follow the sweet aroma of toasted pecans to find it.

The namesake cakes are made from an original recipe created by Will's mom, the late Lorraine McCoy, who owned a bakery in Refugio, TX in the 1970s. She challenged herself to make a pecan dessert Will would actually eat during the holidays, and would also replace the traditional holiday fruit cake that no one ate. Will explains, “I loved pecans but I didn’t like them in pie or any other baked goods. Still, Mom was a great baker—if it went into the oven she could make it. People would always buy fruit cakes but they wouldn’t eat them. She couldn’t stand for her cakes not to be eaten so she created this recipe, and there was never a crumb left.”

Lorraine's cakes have always been in high demand at rodeos, festivals, and at Will and Bridget McCoy’s bakery in Bertram. The couple are also proud to have won H-EB’s Quest for the Texas Best competition, but Bridget wants to make sure Lorraine gets all the glory for being the brains behind the award-winning cake.

Liberty Hill pecan fans are fortunate to live close to the bakery, but the McCoys also sell plenty of cakes online—all thanks to Lorraine, whose baking legacy continues to add to the list of dessert lovers who are nuts about Texas.