Is it pee-can, puh-kahn, or something else entirely?
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Hold on to your hats, folks.
This is one divisive pronunciation.
Credit:Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
How do you saypecan?
It’s an eternal question, much like “Do you putsugar in your cornbread?”
or “Where is over yonder?”
Credit:Getty Images
Pecans aren’t just part of our favorite pies.
They’re part of the Southern landscape and the fabric of Southern agriculture.
So how do you pronouncepecan?
Credit:Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
It may just be a matter of taste.
What Is A Pecan?
Getty Images
How Do You Say Pecan?
To the question at hand: What accounts for the differences inpecanpronunciation?
The way we see itor hear it, in this casethere are six widely used pronunciations for the wordpecan.
(But if you have others, we’d love to know.)
In no particular order, they are:
Whew.
That’s quite a few options, though, of course, countless more possibilities are out there.
Which pecan camp are you in?
Do you pronounce the rounded vowels of puh-KAHN or the smiling enunciation of PEE-can?
Now, this isn’t scientific.
One thing everyone was aligned on?
Thattheirpreferred pronunciation was 100% right.
That’s the beauty of pecans.
We all have our own inflections and emphases, but they’re delicious all the same.
From pecan pie topecan tassiesto fudgy pecan brownies, theres always a place for pecans on the Southern table.
Try these recipes:
Other Foods With Tricky Pronunciations
Pecan isn’t alone.
There are plenty of other foods with tongue-twisting pronunciations.
And if you arent from the region, mispronouncing boudin balls orConecuh sausageis a sure sign youre just visiting.
Have you thanked a pecan farmer lately?
The answer may surprise you.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Gardener Plant Toolbox.Carya illinoinensis, hardy pecan.
