Pecans in the Raleigh Triangle

[klmonline]

Any opinions on pecan quality? I want to make one spectacular pecan pie using the best quality pecans I can get. I don't have time to mail order from some direct seller on the web. I am willing to pay for quality if there is an actual discernible difference in taste.

The most common refrain I find on the web is that Georgia and Texas pecans are supposed to be the highest quality and the sellers like to say that you can taste the difference. I know that NC does have some commercial pecan growers as well and I could probably zip over to the Farmers Market for local crop.

I have never seen an actual taste test attempting to verify whether there really is a taste difference between pecans grown in the different states, or local versus mass market retail pecans.

Do you have a personal preference? Have you ever done any side by side testing? Do you know a retailer who carries supposedly "better tasting" pecans than the bags of Blue Diamond at Krogers?

Thanks for sharing!

[mpjmph]

I think pecans are like peaches - quality has far more to do with freshness and handling than it does with growing in a state/region "known" for growing them. The best pecans are the ones that grew as close to you as possible. Your best bet is to go to a farmers' market, either the state market or a smaller weekly market.

[Rory]

Hey just back from the Carrboro Farmer's Market, thanks so much, it's my dad's birthday and I got him a fab pecan pie from the Pecan farmer. It looks great and the farmer's market today is really amazing.

[supernc]

I could not answer that question but perhaps have a starting point for you. There is a park just a block off the beltline off of Poole Road called the "Cotton Gin". It is an old historic farm that raised cotton. The family had Quilles in their linage (seed growers). The grew two types of pecan trees on their front lawn. These trees are huge and the nuts free for the public. They are probably all picked up by now but the documentation on growing and cultivating of these nuts is huge. A great place to know about. Should be open tomorrow, Sunday.

[Tom from Raleigh]

We get our pecans from "the pecan guy" at the Carrboro Farmer's Market. They're excellent and, I assume, local. You can tell he's the pecan guy because he's always handling out samples of pecan pie - just little handfuls, not actual pieces of pie, b/c that would be awesome!

[brokegradstudent]

I love the pecan guy! (whose name I've learned 5 or 6 times now but can never remember.) I'm planning to see him tomorrow at the Thanksgiving market to pick up some of his pecans.

They are as good as our "family" pecans from a relative's grove in South Carolina.