Chili may be the state dish, but for most Texans, the pecan is what evokes nostalgia. For so many, the buttery nut conjures childhood memories of backyard trees and holiday repasts featuring pecans in stuffing, sweet potato dishes, and pies. Or as Catherine Clark, former managing editor of Pecan South Magazine, says: “Pecans resonate with so many Texans because they’re not only integral to our state’s history; they’re also a part of our own life stories.”
For Kortney Chase, growing up on a pecan farm in southeastern New Mexico meant making fresh nut milk for use in coffee, smoothies, and cereal. Chase is the founder of San Saba’s Pecana, a company founded in 2023 that makes organic, additive-free, Texas-sourced pecan milks.
Now a third-generation pecan farmer, Chase and her family started Chase Farms in Artesia, New Mexico, in 1986. After relocating to San Saba in 2003, the company changed its name to Chase Pecan and expanded their holdings. This included purchasing their former processor’s facility, which also serves as Pecana’s headquarters today.
The self-proclaimed “Pecan Capital of the World,” San Saba is home to fossilized nuts estimated to be 65 million years old. Pecans were also a crucial source of nutrition and used for trade by the early Indigenous peoples of the region.
“You can find 300-year-old native pecan trees along rivers throughout the Texas Hill Country,” says Clark, whose previous publication is still published by the Texas Pecan Growers Association. “Some growers still harvest from those trees.”
The wild pecan thrives in the fertile alluvial soil of river valleys and is the only major commercially cultivated nut native to North America. Drought tolerant, wind-pollinated, and long bearing, the pecan is a more sustainable option than some other tree nuts. For example, almonds and walnuts require up to double the amount of water per gallon to produce a single nut.
In Texas, the pecan has been such a vital part of the economy and landscape that in 1919, it was designated the state tree. Historically, Texas has produced up to 50 million pounds of the crop annually and is the nation’s third largest producer of pecans, just behind Georgia and New Mexico. That has dipped recently though, mainly due to the extreme heat and drought of 2023 combined with rising input costs and low prices. To help offset some of those obstacles, Clark notes that many growers have started to implement more sustainable practices, such as integrating cover crops, adding bat houses to their orchards for pest management, and creating more innovative food products.
Pecana is the result of thinking beyond the proverbial pie and is the only pecan milk brand sourcing nuts from its own farms. The inspiration for the company began over a decade ago, when Chase rediscovered her passion for plant-based milk as a lower-fat option to dairy. During that period of purchasing commercially available options with soy and almonds, she began questioning why pecan-based versions were largely absent from the marketplace. “Unlike most nuts, pecans aren’t widely grown, and the industry is made up of a lot of smaller players; I think it comes down to the need for a consistent supply,” she says.
Chase Pecan is the leading grower of pecans, with 14,000 acres of tenant farmer-occupied estate orchards and family farms in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the latter of which includes 3,000 acres of certified organic land. The company harvests approximately 20 million pounds of nuts a year, with Pecana’s Texas harvest coming form the family’s farms in the Rio Grande River Valley near El Paso. These varieties include the smaller Western Schley pecan, and the Pawnee, a coveted and meaty variety popularized by Chase’s father, Richard.
“I wanted a milk that was seed oil-, sugar-, and chemical-free, and made with whole nuts, not the leftovers used by some manufacturers,” Chase says. “Pecans have a lower environmental footprint due to their reduced water needs and ability to self-pollinate, so we hope this serves as a launch pad for other Texas pecan growers to expand beyond the typical candies.”
Today, Pecana has a few signature products, including unsweetened pecan, unsweetened vanilla, and a praeline milk made from pecans, Himalayan sea salt, filtered water, molasses, and organic brown sugar. Chase’s entire line is packaged with renewable materials, and the company has also launched a water recapture and treatment plant that diverts treated water to San Saba for city use.
“Right now, I want to just shoot for the moon and see where we land,” she says. “Ice cream and creamers are up next. I get so amped up by the possibilities.”
*You can find Pecana products at H-E-B and Whole Foods throughout the state.
