If you’ve ever empathized with two squirrels wrestling over a fat pecan, you might be from the Pee Dee part of South Carolina. Like those scrappy yard rascals, folks in this region tend to go a bit nuts when it comes to nuts.
While you aren’t likely to see human foragers take a pecan squabble down to the mat, you will discover that satisfying pecan envy calls for a serious but more civilized approach. It is called the South Carolina Pecan Trail, and those armed with a trail passport from the Florence Convention and Visitors Center can hunt for pecan-this and pecan-that by simply following a map — no wrestling required.
Participating restaurants, gift shops, markets and even a brewery peddle pecans in everything from scones to martinis. You can earn some nutty swag, too, by getting your passport stamped at stops along the trail: a nutcracker, embossed drawstring bag, T-shirt and a pie plate.
Not so nutty, you say? We’re just getting warmed up…
Officially nuts
In 2003, Florence officials invited the public to converge upon downtown for a common cause: to honor the humble pecan. The South Carolina Pecan Festival drew crowds with live music, concessions, kiddie attractions, food and drink. It was a carnival vibe befitting a celebration with a lineup of events like a pecan cookoff and the Run Like a Nut 5K/10K/half marathon.
Recently re-branded as the South Carolina Pecan, Music and Food Festival, the one-day November event boasts, on average, 50,000 attendees who come for fall fun and a taste of pecan goodies like pies, cakes, cookies and candy. This year’s event is Nov. 4.
If your town hosts a pecan celebration, let it be known that in 2011, the Florence festival was designated as the Official South Carolina State Pecan Festival by Act No. 9, Section 1. Solidifying its officialness, Travel + Leisure pronounced it the “Best Fall Festival in South Carolina” in 2017. True story.
Days of pecans past
The beating heart of all this light-heartedness is deeply veined by a time-honored history dating back more than a century. That’s when T.B. Young discovered the Pee Dee’s soil and climate were just right for growing mammoth pecans.
“In the early 1920s, T.B. Young founded the Young Pecan Company, growing and collecting and shelling in-shell pecans,” said Hannah Davis, development manager for the city of Florence.
“When the festival began in 2003, [Young Pecan] had established itself as a cultural icon in the Pee Dee, offering shelled and coated pecans. The festival was born out of a desire to bring folks downtown to witness its transformation and make it unique and relatable to the region.”
The same goes for the South Carolina Pecan Trail, which meanders through Florence County as a tribute to the region’s history as a one-time giant among pecan producers, thanks to Young and those who came after him. In 1969, the company banked on its Southern appeal by transitioning into “Young Plantation” and began churning out a long list of flavored pecans, baked goods and other nutty treats as well as their Mingo River line produced for fundraising efforts. The operation distinguished itself by being the first to use lasers in the de-shelling process and the first to up its production with a Quantz rotary pecan cracker. They also took the cutting-edge steps of preserving crops through cold storage methods and controlling bacteria with microwaves, thereby paving the way for other successful pecan distributors across the nation.
Adios, pecans?
These days, there’s not a whole lot of pecan shelling happening in the Pee Dee. Now known as “Young’s Premium Foods,” the company packed up most of its operations and headed due west for the more prolific pecan-growing lands of New Mexico and northern Mexico.
There are still pecan farms and shellers in South Carolina — and a handful of chestnut and walnut growers — but nothing on the grand scale that was once Young’s. Still, South Carolina loves to lay claim to its favorite nut, ignoring the fact that Georgia supplies more than one-third of the nation’s pecans, with New Mexico and other Western regions producing the rest. (We still beat Georgia in peach production, so there’s that…)
Young’s robust shelling heyday might now be the stuff of legends in these parts, but don’t tell that to the people of Florence. Pecans are still as prized as ever here. Consider a 2008 caper in which a couple made off with 3,000 pounds of Young’s pecans only to be nabbed during a traffic stop for a faulty tail light. Turns out a life of crime was not all it was cracked up to be. (I just had to.) Nervy thieves? Yep. Totally nuts? You betcha.
P-E-C-A-N-S
Young’s flagship store still beckons countless locals and I-95 wayfarers with a rooftop that hollers “P-E-C-A-N-S” in ginormous letters. And that’s not false advertising. Inside, you’ll find every kind of flavored pecan imaginable — chocolate, jalapeño, praline, cinnamon glazed, key lime, amaretto, butter toffee, white chocolate, salted and roasted and kaboodles more. There’s even a tasting bar where you can sample the varieties, compliments of Young’s.
“I don’t care where they grow these pea-cans,” said customer J.J. Martin while munching dark chocolate-dipped pecans. A resident of nearby Lydia, he frequents Young’s for sampling and restocking his home supply. “They are so goooood.”
Stacks of neatly boxed pecans, barrels of snack bags and pecan logs and colorful tins brimming with nut combos fill the sweeping retail space, along with freshly baked goods and ice cream from the onsite kitchen and an array of South Carolina novelties. While the holidays get a little nutty with throngs of customers volleying for position to snag Young’s pecan pies, it’s all just part of the Pee Dee way of life.
Nuts for nuts
When autumn heralds the fresh pecan harvest, locals take to tree-lined drives, small farms, and sometimes their backyards (or those of generous neighbors) to hunt for in-shell treasures. After all, it is the season for making South Carolina’s traditional pecan favorites: gooey pies and tassies, hummingbird cakes, pecan sandies, pralines and Charleston’s beloved apple- and pecan-studded Huguenot tortes.
Indeed, change comes slowly to the Pee Dee if at all, as evidenced by a pecan forecast that can be predicted with a high level of certainty: 100% chance of lip-smacking pecan dishes along the South Carolina Pecan Trail with high tides of customers flooding Young’s and a likelihood of strong currents of revelers going nuts on the first Saturday of November at the South Carolina Pecan, Music and Food Festival.
And if you come this way and spy two squirrels playing tug o’ war with a plump pecan, go ahead and join the tussle. This might be the only place on Earth where nobody will fault you for it.
The South Carolina Pecan, Music and Food Festival is slated for Nov. 4 in downtown Florence with headline band, The Family Stone, and plenty of pecan eats and treats. Admission is free. Visit scpecanfestival.com for more information.
Plan your adventure on the South Carolina Pecan Trail at visitflo.com/sc-pecan-trail.
For details about Young’s Premium Foods outlet and online sales, visit youngspremiumfoods.com.
Huguenot Torte
Though technically not a South Carolina invention, this easy-to-concoct darling of the springtime tearoom circuit (originating from an Arkansas/Missouri recipe called Ozark Pudding) embodies everything we love about fall: apples, spice and lots of fresh pecans. This recipe, adapted from the 1950 edition of Charleston Receipts by the Junior League of Charleston, cuts down on the sugar just a bit and incorporates nutmeg for a warm, autumn kick.
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 Tbs. flour
- 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup chopped tart cooking apples
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg, freshly shaved
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat whole eggs with a rotary beater until frothy and lemon-colored. Add other ingredients in order. Pour the chunky batter into a generously buttered 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is crusty and brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to scoop out servings onto plates, crusty top up. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream dusted with a bit of freshly shaved nutmeg.
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