A pecan is a smooth, oval-shaped nut with a rich, buttery flavor that grows on pecan trees native to North America. The nut grows inside a hard shell that splits open when ripe, revealing the tan-colored kernel inside that you can eat.

Pecans have been an important food for thousands of years. Native American tribes gathered them each fall, using them fresh or storing them for winter. Today, pecan trees grow throughout the southern United States, particularly in Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana. When autumn arrives, the nuts fall from the trees and people collect them by the bagful.

You've probably tasted pecans in pecan pie, a classic American dessert, or sprinkled on top of ice cream or salads. They have a sweeter, more delicate taste than walnuts, which they resemble. Some people eat them plain as a snack, while bakers fold them into cookies, brownies, and cakes.

It makes sense that people once said you needed a stone to crack them when you tried opening one: that shell is tough! Commercial growers now have machines to crack them, but if you find pecans in the wild, you'll need a nutcracker or a hammer to get to the tasty nut inside.