Pecan

About

Of the fourteen hickory nut species native to North America, pecan is generally considered the best-tasting and easiest to shell; it is grown mainly in the US and Mexico, where trees require substantial spacing. Pecan has a sweet, buttery flavor and is popular throughout the US and Canada, though it remains a specialty item in Europe, associated mainly with pecan pie and pastries. Historically, some Native American communities used pecans to make a milk-like beverage and to enrich stews and breads, similar to how almonds were used in medieval Europe.

Pairs well with pecan

• SpCinnamonA quintessentially American-feeling combination, most common in coffee cake and cinnamon buns; chopped pecans stirred into maple syrup…
• FrAppleA tart apple offsets the buttery, maple-like richness of pecan well.
• RoChocolatePecans don't substitute well for hazelnuts in chocolate spreads: hazelnut's sweet woodiness holds up against chocolate, but roasted…
• CrCoconutPastry chef Dolester Miles's pecan-and-sweetened-coconut cake, created at Chez Fonfon in Birmingham, Alabama, is a variation on a Southern…
• ChCheesePecan tassies are small pies with a cream-cheese crust and pecan filling.
• RoCoffeeWalnuts' skin bitterness and dense texture make coffee-and-walnut a classic, sophisticated pairing in cakes and pastries.
• BrMisoPecans can carry a plant-dairy quality reminiscent of sweetened soy milk, which pairs naturally with miso, sweet white miso with pecan…
• CrRaisinThe US, the largest pecan producer and second-largest raisin producer, has long combined the two in baking, pecan caramel rolls sent to…
• CrDateSaudi Sugai dates, brown with a slightly crunchy, cream-colored top, resembling a miniature Irish coffee, are considered a particularly…
• CrPrunePecan and prune are a milder echo of the classic date-and-walnut pairing, prune has a stronger flavor than date, and pecan lacks walnut's…
• GrKalePecan's buttery, brown-sugar notes make it one of the best matches for kale, similar in principle to cabbage cooked with butter, sugar and…
• RoMaple syrupPecan's buttery flavor and maple syrup share a distinctly North American character associated with forests, campfires and coffee.
• BeCranberryCranberry tastes like a mild sour apple, which suits pecan well in pies, cookies or wild rice stuffing.
• WoOatPecan and oats are a well-regarded pairing; a 1986 sensory study by Menard Heydanek and Robert McGorrin found a "nutty-pecan" note in…
• WoSweet potatoThomas Jefferson's recipe for sweet potato and pecan scones, rich, nutty, fruity and lightly spiced, has been adapted and served daily at…
• BeGooseberryAn 1906 American farming journal, The Western Fruitgrower, suggested chopping small green gooseberries with celery, cabbage and nuts into…
• GrChicoryA baguette sandwich layers pecan butter and salt on one half, topped with curly chicory tossed in sharp vinaigrette and pressed together.
• EaJerusalem artichokeBoth are native to North America.