You Say Pea-Can And I Say Pea-Con
It seemed like an innocent question, posted on Twitter and Facebook after I baked my first pecan pie. (Using the classic Karo Syrup recipe.)
"Do you pronounce it pea-con or pea-can?"
The answers came fast and a few were even furious: "Pea-con rhymes with moron!"
Whoa! Let's not get too fired up about this linguistic puzzler.
This sticky sticking point demonstrates a divide between the North (pea-cons) and the South (pea-cans). My friends who live in pecan country insist it's some variation of pea-can. If you're from Mississippi, please call it Puh-Can! My buddy in New Orleans crowed: "In the Motherland, it's puh-KOHN." One Twitter pal who grew up in Arkansas added a new wrinkle, saying her family just called it Karo Nut pie.
Not to pour fuel on this potato-potot-o/tomato-tomotto discussion, but I decided to check on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the one that includes audio pronunciations and guess what? Both are included! Guess which one's first? Pea-Con!
No matter how pecan rolls off your tongue, I think we can all agree on one thing: It makes for an incredible pie!
I'm grateful this entertaining exchange came with sides of great advice. One friend, who had lived in Texas for years, suggested adding some chocolate chips on top of the unbaked crust before pouring in the filling. Another, from Memphis, was all in favor of spiking the baked pie with a couple tablespoons of bourbon right after it comes out of the oven. Boy, oh man, does that smell like a slice of heaven. But you'll have to wait.
The key to this sticky sweet, crunchy pie is that it needs to cool thoroughly before serving.
Now, for the next subject up for debate: Ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top?
-- Leslie Kelly
Preston Earle on February 03, 2010 at 08:33 AM
Then there's the old story about signs outside gas stations as you travel through the Old South: in Virginia they say "Comfort Stations", in NC it's "Rest Rooms", in SC it's "Indoor Plumbing", and in GA it's "Pecans".
I see the Karo recipe you linked to says that one can use Karo "lite" syrup for a reduced calorie version of the recipe. Do you know how much, if any, of the sugar/brown sugar could be replaced with Splenda?
Warren on February 03, 2010 at 04:07 PM
I was always told that a "pea-can" was something that you kept under your bed so that you didn't have to run to the outhouse in the middle of the night ;)