Fresh pecans for the holidays?

Every year, starting right around the time everyone is gearing up for holiday baking, we start getting calls asking about this year’s pecans.  Are they ready?  Can I order this year’s pecans for my Thanksgiving baking?  Sadly, my answer is no, pecan trees have their own ideas.

Pecans are a fall harvested crop and the pecan varieties in southern New Mexico depend on colder temperatures, especially several hard freezes, to open up the fleshy hull that surrounds the nut.  As the start of cold weather has gotten later, our typical harvest starts in early to mid-December.  After the pecans are harvested, they need to be shelled and for us to keep our organic certification, we must use a sheller that has organic certification and there is only one such facility in our area.  Shelling usually occurs after the start of the year simply because we have to wait our turn in line.

While the pecans that grew this year are off the menu for holiday meals, the great news is that the pecans that were shelled earlier in the year are still in perfect condition.  We keep our pecans in freezer storage from the time they are shelled until they are sent to you.  The pecan industry standards say that pecans stored in this way have at least a 2 year shelf life.  The cold storage prevents the oils in the pecans from becoming rancid and helps them retain the sweet flavor our pecans are known for.  And as someone who eats pecans most days of the year, I can attest to the fact that they taste just as good in November or December as they did in February or March.

So my dear holiday bakers, yes, you can have fresh pecans for the holidays, you just have to adjust to the schedule the trees give us.