Newfound respect, attention building for pecans

By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It’s a story with the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster: big money, competition, foreign intrigue, crime and sex.

And the star? The pecan.

After years of being relegated to sticky holiday pies and choking on the promotional dust of fancy-pants almonds, the pecan is hot — drawing research dollars to the University of Georgia, finding new fans in China and generating some grocery store sticker shock.

In 2010, pecans accounted for more than half the value of all fruits and nuts produced in Georgia.

There’s even a rap song about the pecan.

Now, thanks in part to its many, but not widely known, nutritional benefits, the pecan could become the next “it” nut — at least, if the state’s pecan industry has anything to say about it.

In Saturday’s newspaper, the AJC takes a deep look at how Georgia's pecan industry plans to rebrand the state's leading nut. It’s a story you’ll get only by picking up a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution or logging on to the paper’s iPad app. Subscribe today.