Drive down any rural back road in Georgia, and you’re bound to pass a pecan orchard. There’s a rhythmic beauty in the dozens upon dozens of trees lined up row after perfectly straight row, their branches reaching up like outstretched arms to the skies above. As a boy, these orchards were Putt Wetherbee’s playground; a place where he built tree houses and hung rope swings. “I’ve been enamored with pecans and the whole process of harvesting them ever since I can remember,” says the fifth-generation grower, third-generation owner, and president of Georgia’s Schermer Pecans. These days the orchards still foster a spirit of childlike wonder in Putt, as he celebrates the 70th anniversary of his company.
Seven decades after its founding in 1946, Schermer Pecans remains one of the few family-run pecan companies that has a hand in every step of the production process, from the time the pecans fall from the trees to the moment they reach the customer’s table. Today they produce an average of 2.3 million pounds of pecans a year. Here are a few of our favorite recipes starring their pecans.
Brown Butter and Pecan Blondies
Pecan and Goat Cheese Biscuits
Find our new Southern Cast Iron Fall issue here or at your local newsstand to get more delicious pecan recipes.
