The ‘Pecan’ Pronunciation Debate Has Been Settled
Is it PEA-can or Puh-CON? The internet may have gotten this right. And either way, the pie is delicious.
The American Pecan Council asked people to share thoughts on the proper way to pronounce one of the world's most delicious nuts, and it was a close call, but the debate has officially been settled.
It's Puh-CON, right? It has to be. At least, if that's the pronunciation you grew up with. If you lived in Georgia as a kid and every Thanksgiving your grandma raved about making her prized PEA-can pie, then the rest of us are the weird ones.
The American Pecan Council posted the results of its survey and said Puh-CON gets 66% of the votes and PEA-can gets 34%.
It's probably more important to figure out how we're going to eat those buttery gems than it is to get caught up in what to call them because the taste is the pot of gold at the end of this pronunciation rainbow anyway.
Have you ever eaten a handful of homemade trail mix with pecans, Cheerios, dark chocolate M&Ms, and tiny pretzel balls? It's pure joy. Every day I think I can get by with a bite or two, and every day it gets ugly. It's so addictive and good. Pecans are the perfect savory addition to snack mixes, cinnamon rolls, and pies, and whether it's PEA or PUH seems secondary.
Recipes for the Thanksgiving pie are listed on American Pecan's site, along with Pecan Stuffed Dates, Spiced Pecans, and German Chocolate Energy Bites, featuring pecans. The holiday weight gain is going to be kicking into high gear any minute now.
Oh, and is PEA-CON a possibility? I think I may accidentally blend the two pools of pronunciation sometimes and I don't mean any offense to the pecan purists. It just comes out that way because, well, my grandma in Nebraska always said it that way growing up and family idiosyncrasies never leave us.
However it's supposed to be said, let's have some. 2020 is nuts anyway, and if we can't beat it, we should join it.