Pecan Oil
The Nut Boom of the 1890s put the notion of pecan oil in people’s minds. A sudden conviction seized the American public that nuts were healthier than other categories of food, and that nut butters and nut oils were better than dairy products and rendered lard. In 1894 The Boston Transcript announced that “Pecan oil is excellent for table use It makes a fine illuminant” (October 19, 1894). Dozens of papers across the country reprinted the observation. Yet it was as a lubricant that pecan oil won an international following. The Dallas Morning News of February 7, 1897, informed the pecan growers of Texas that “Pecan oil is regard by the jewelers as the best of lubricators for delicate machinery. In Switzerland, Belgium and France the demand for pecan oil greatly exceeds the supply. It can not be successfully substituted or counterfeited” (2). A secondary market existed as a veterinary lipid used in treating horses. Dr. Dick’s Pecan Oil was sold throughout the American Midwest before World War 1.
The first decade of the 20th century brought an explosive expansion of pecan orchards across the South, and with it speculation about the possibility of pecan oil as a culinary resource: “Some are talking of the advisability of manufacturing a salad oil of pecans, and if this is ever done olive oil will no longer be a necessity, save to those who cannot afford the luxury of pecan oil” “Rapid Growth of the Pecan Industry,” New Orleans Times-Picayune (January 7, 1906), 27]. The price of pecan oil restricted its use in food; but medicine sold at a higher rate, and pecan oil became a resource in ingested medicine. I the later 1920s it was touted as a Castor Oil substitute [“Pecan Oil Submitted as Castor Oil Substitute,” Dallas Morning News (December 24, 1928), 12.]
The 1930s saw a scientific champion of culinary pecan oil appear in the person of Dr. T. H. McHatton, chair of horticulture at the University of Georgia. Dr. McHatton thought that pecan meal would be an excellent component in biscuits, pancakes, and waffles. The oil would be an American equivalent to olive oil. From the 1940s ot the 1980s there was modest production of pecan oil for cooking, but its general acceptance can finally be said to take place in the ‘80s when it begins appearing regularly as an ingredient in newspaper recipes.
Attributes (serving size 1 Tbsp)
Pecan Oil Virgin Olive Oil Grapeseed Oil Walnut Oil
Calories per serving 126 120 119 119
Saturated fats 8.37% 13.81% 9.63% 9.1%
Monounsaturated fats (Omega-9)
58.25% 72.96% 16.30% 22.8%
Polyunsaturated fats (Omega-3 & -6)
32.94% 10.52% 69.63% 63.3%
Omega-3 1.28% 0.76% 0% 10.4%
Omega-6 31.65% 9.76% 69.59% 52.9%
Vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol)
31.03 mg 12 mg 3.9 mg 0 mg
[Sources: Silliker Labs, 2010; USDA-ARS, 2011]
Two styles of pecan oil exist: 1. virgin cold pressed, the style that dominates in the United States, and is characterized by a neutral flavor, with slight nut characteristic but a high smoke point; 2. parched and pressed, a style found in Europe and gives a more forward flavor. The roasted pecans produce an oil used by bakers and confectioners in the making of pastry.
Louisiana’s Kinloch Plantation pecan oil for the last decade has been the most popular southern brand available on the American market. Millican pecan oil has a lighter body and more muted taste. La Tourangelle Roasted Pecan Oil is the most readily available example of the European style on the American Market. If you wish a virgin oil with a rather pointed nut flavor you might try Berdoll Farm Pecan Oil out of Texas. Oliver Farms Pecan Oil has ideal body and balance for a salad or finishing oil. That said, numbers of pecan growers have added oil to their products lines in the past five years, and exploring the regional differences of these artisan producers would be a delightful project. Here is a list of producers to investigate: Achukma Farm (Oklahoma), Berdoll Farm (Texas), Delta Blues (Mississippi), Everling Farm (Virginia), Guidry Organic Farms (Louisiana), Inglewood Farm (Louisiana & African American), Kinloch Plantation (Louisiana), Millican (Louisiana), Missouri Native (Missouri), Oliver Farms (Georgia), Pecan Ridge Plantation (Georgia), Riverside Pecan Oil (Louisiana), Royalty Pecan Farm (Texas), Swift River (Texas), Texas Pecan Ranch (Texas), True Missouri (Missouri)
While the high smoke point of virgin pecan oil encourages it use as a frying medium, the price per gallon of pecan oil prevents its wide adoption. The rise in pecan prices in the past five years exacerbates the cost issue.