It’s a Thanksgiving staple. It’s a healthy snack. It’s the source of great linguistic debate. We’re talking pecans.

Did you read that as puh-KAHNs or PEE-cans? If you read “PEE-can,” you line up with ~45% of southerners and nearly 70% of northerners, according to a poll by the National Pecan Shellers Association. Pronunciation is often attributed to region, with many believing dialect affects how people pronounce words like pecan, caramel + mayonnaise.

There are some studies that justify that claim, but many others think it’s nuts. See what we did there? Some people, like Josh Katz, author of “Speaking American: How Y’all, Youse, and You Guys Talk,” think you’ll hear both pronunciations in any state, and that the difference depends more on a rural vs. urban background.

Dialect map of the word “pecan” by Joshua Katz

To make the debate stickier than the Karo Syrup in your pecan pie, some people claim the pronunciation of the word pecan depends on how you’re using it. In other words, when you say “pecan pie, praline pecan, and pecan” – does your pronunciation of “pecan” change each time? Or does it remain the same?

While puh-KAHN and PEE-can are the two most common – there are actually six widely used pronunciations of the word pecan:

○ puh-KAHN

○ puh-CAN

○ PEE-can

○ PEE-kahn

○ pee-KAHN

○ pee-CAN

We may never agree, but one thing’s for sure – the southern nut makes for a great dessert (especially around the holiday season). Here are a few local spots celebrating the pecan and all it has to offer:

○ Mama Crunk’s Pies | 3210 Brainerd Rd. | Bourbon pecan + chocolate pecan; baby pies, mini pies + full size pies | $15, $12 + $24 (#ProTip: These can be made vegan. 🌱)

○ Bread & Butter | 3955 Dayton Blvd. | Slice, half + whole pecan pies | $6, $15 + $25

○ Pie R Square | 4403 Dayton Blvd. | Pecan pie | $20

○ Bite Me Bakery | 9408 Apison Pike, Ooltewah | Full + mini pecan pies | $25 + $3.29

○ City Cafe Diner | 901 Carter St. | Pecan pancakes | $5.75

○ Cupcake Kitchen | 500 Broad St. | Turtles | $2.50 each

○ Hillbilly Willy’s BBQ | 115 Browns Ferry Rd. | Hillbilly pie | $6 a slice (#FYI: this is a “poor man’s” pecan pie, meaning there aren’t actually pecans in it, but it sure does taste like one. 😋)

Poll

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