Pecans

Delicious and richly flavored, pecans are technically drupes, or fruits with a single stone or pit surrounded by a husk. Pecans score a 97 out of 100 in Dr. T.C. Fry’s “A General Guide to Food Selection.”

Pecans are harvested in mid-October. An average-size pecan weighs 3 grams and contains 21 calories. A cup of pecan halves weighs 99 grams and contains 684 calories.

Pecans’ binomial name is Carya illinoinensis. Pecans grow on pecan trees, large deciduous trees native to Mexico and the Southcentral and Southeastern regions of the United States.

Pecans are teeming with B vitamins, especially Vitamin B1, along with minerals, particularly manganese. Pecans contain great amounts of fat.

The United States produces 80 to 95 percent of the world’s pecans, growing 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes in 2010. Georgia is usually the leading producer, followed by Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Outside the United States, pecans are grown in Argentina, Australia, China, Mexico and South Africa, among other countries.

Stats for 100 Grams of Pecans

• 691 calories

Notable Nutrients

Percentages based on the Reference Daily Intake for a 2,000-calorie diet

• Fiber: 38.4%
• Fat: 110.7%
• Protein: 18.3%
• Vitamin B1: 44%
• Vitamin B2: 7.6%
• Vitamin B3: 5.8%
• Vitamin B5: 8.6%
• Vitamin B6: 10.5%
• Folate: 5.5%
• Vitamin E: 7%
• Calcium: 7%
• Copper: 60%
• Iron: 14.1%
• Magnesium: 30.3%
• Manganese: 225%
• Phosphorous: 27.7%
• Potassium: 11.7%
• Selenium: 5.4%
• Zinc: 30.2%

Carbs/Protein/Fat

• Carbohydrates: 8.2%
• Protein: 4.6%
• Fat: 87.2%

Food Type

• Nut

Sources

• http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3681
• http://www.cronometer.com
• http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pecans.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan