Did you know Louisiana harvests around 17.7 million pounds of pecans each year?
Pecan comes from the Algonquin word “paccan” or “pakan,” meaning a hard nut that has to be cracked with a stone. Here is another interesting fact: Louisiana cattle are most likely to be “Brangus,” a hybrid of Angus and Brahman cattle that are better suited for heat and humidity.
The state is the top domestic producer of crawfish, blue crabs and oysters, and pork is known as the “preferred meat” in the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, a region that encompasses much of Acadiana and stretches from central Louisiana to the Gulf Coast.
Last year, the heritage area produced a series of postcards with detailed illustrations and fascinating tidbits about the foodways that make up the region, where food and nature interact daily to produce one of America’s most unique cultures. Caroline Byrne Cassagne, executive director of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, said that the postcards are a fun way to introduce people to “America’s foreign country,” one of the taglines for the region that touches 15 parishes in the southern half of the state…