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Mail order pecans

Dianabanana

By Dianabanana
in Kitchen Consumer

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Dianabanana

Dianabanana

Posted
Posted

I'm thinking about ordering some fresh pecans online, and I'm wondering:

1) Are they going to be significantly better than the new-crop Diamond brand pecans that will show up in my grocery soon, such that they will be worth the extra cost? and

2) What's a good purveyor?

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JeanneCake

JeanneCake

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Posted

I like Sunnyland Farms for mail order pecans - I especially love their midget (aka junior) pecans for baking. The nuts (and everything else I've ever ordered from there) has been well packed, fresh and exactly as described. I usually get their home packs because I'm buying for myself, but my mother in law once got us a gift pack and it was just as good!

Online at Sunnyland Farms

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Dianabanana

Dianabanana

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I've been doing some poking around online. In the 1998 Pecan Taste Test conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Prilop variety was the overwhelming favorite, scoring 265 points overall, while the Choctaw variety was the overwhelming loser, scoring a mere 160 points. The order of preference was:

Prilop

Schley

Moreland

Cheyenne

Forkert

Success

Desirable

Choctaw

Ironically, I have been completely unable to identify any mail-order suppliers of Prilop pecans, while it appears that the bottom-rated Choctaw pecans are one of the most commonly available varieties. However, this information is useless in practice, as nobody sells pecans by variety. They will sometimes tell you what varieties they grow, but then when it comes time to order, you only get to choose the grade, not the variety.

Now I'm determined to have these blasted Prilop pecans, and I'll buy a bag for anybody who can tell me where to get them!

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andiesenji

andiesenji

Posted
Posted (edited)

You can call this place

and ask what variety these are. The Prilop is a Texas native pecan tree and these are incredibly tasty (but small - Prilop are quite small pecans).

I buy from here and I also buy the mammoth pecan halves from Bass in Mississippi.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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ludja

ludja

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Posted (edited)

From, Stahmann Farms, the largest family pecan farm in New Mexico:

The principal varieties of pecans grown on Stahmann Farms are the Western Schley and the Bradley, two varieties that yield very high quality soft-shelled pecans. The average age of a bearing tree is around fifty years. The orchard has approximately 180,000 trees with a basic spacing of thirty by thirty feet or 48 trees per acre. Today, Stahmanns produces eight to ten million pounds of pecans per year.

Stahmann Farms

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Dianabanana

Dianabanana

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Update: Philip Glass of pecans.com very helpfully informed me that Prilops are from South Texas and are a propagated native pecan that shells well and has a nice color. The "native" pecans that he sells are not Prilops but rather "standard shelled native pecans" that taste as good but don't have as nice a color as the Prilop.

The search continues!

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emilyr

emilyr

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Posted

This farm is near my hometown and owned by the family that also owns the first radio station I ever worked for, so I'm a bit biased, but th're pecans are really very good. I think they're better than the Texas pecans I've had. The website says they have a higher oil content, so maybe that's why.

They don't have an online order form, but they give their phone number and take orders that way. Plus you could buy buffalo meat if you were so inclined, too! :laugh:

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." - Frederico Fellini

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andiesenji

andiesenji

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I used to get pecans from my family in Ky. However they no longer harvest them as the trees are very old (they were old when I was a child sixty years ago) - the hogs they raise have the run of the old fruit and nut orchards and no one cares to argue the territory with one of these big and wily animals, particularly at this season, when they like to fight over the windfalls.

I remember those pecans as being so sweet and so good. Sigh.....

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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onrushpam

onrushpam

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Living in pecan country, I usually just pick them up at the local farmers market. (We have two trees on our property, but they are very old and don't produce nuts worth messing with. We just leave them for the squirrels.) Sometimes my sis gives me a gallon bag or two of gorgeous halves from her trees in Texas.

If I want something other than plain ol' pecan halves/pieces, I shop at this place. We use their parking lot and their HUGE dog walk area for meetups with the Atlanta greyhound adoption group. They also have a pretty decent meat-and-three lunch buffet. Their lemon pecan bars are really good! I always have a bag of their pecan meal in the freezer for doing pecan crusted fish. One of our volunteers always buys a bag of the Key Lime Pecans.

Priesters Pecans

This place is good, too. It's our regular "potty break" stop on the other route to Atlanta. (They also have a nice, big doggie walk area. Get the theme, here?) I especially like their toasted/salted pecans as a snack on the road.

Merritt Pecan

Pam <the crazy greyhound lady>

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  • 1 year later...
butterscotch

butterscotch

Posted
Posted (edited)
Update: Philip Glass of pecans.com very helpfully informed me that Prilops are from South Texas and are a propagated native pecan that shells well and has a nice color. The "native" pecans that he sells are not Prilops but rather "standard shelled native pecans" that taste as good but don't have as nice a color as the Prilop.

The search continues!

the "junior" pecans from Sunyland Farm are delicious this year , (and they have the coolest catalog!!) they used to sell Scheleys seprertely too......as does the Nut Factory...

http://www.thenutfactory.com/section.asp?c...ory=nuts-pecans

Edited by butterscotch (log)
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onrushpam

onrushpam

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We stop at Merritts often... They are a small, family-owned company. I can vouch for the quality of their plain pecan halves and pieces. Their roasted-salted pecans are a road-trip treat for us. And, I LOVE the Fiddlesticks chocolate/carmel/pecan gooey treats. Merritts

The Georgia branch of Priester's is another frequent stop. We use their huge parking lot and field behind for monthly meet-ups with our sister greyhound adoption group from Atlanta. Perry is half-way from us to them. So, once a month or so we meet up there early on Saturday morning and transfer a half-dozen greyhounds. This event is usually accompanied by shopping. Their pecan meal makes great breading for fish!

Priester's

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RobertCollins

RobertCollins

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A couple weeks ago we were in MO. Our Pecan tree is having an exceptional year. We drove up north near Brunswick and found a belt of Pecan growers.

We think that the northern Pecan is much oiler than the Tex-Ok ones or even the Georgia types. The prices at The above linked Shepherds Farms are quite good.

We just barely avoided the 50 # over weight charge on the suitcase we brought back full.

Robert

Seattle

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Lindacakes

Lindacakes

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Posted

I agree that the small pecans from Sunnyland are exceptional this year.

They have a product that is beyond delicious -- chocolate covered pecans. They come in individual serving bags, about ten pecans to a bag.

I don't know what they do, but a suspect that the pecans are roasted in some sort of lightly sugared butter before enrobing . . .

I like to bake nice things. And then I eat them. Then I can bake some more.

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