Both the Smooth and the Crunchy varieties are made of 100% highest quality pecan nuts – and nothing else. The nuts are lightly toasted and stone-milled to a fine paste. They differ in texture only. While the Smooth contains just the paste of grounded pecan nuts, the Crunchy is mixed with bits of broken pecans, adding highly palatable “crunchiness” to the taste. Each jar contains 170g.

Culinary Use

While all the nut butters from Nutural World taste great, the Pecan Butter is particularly alluring. The aroma of the lightly roasted pecan nuts is just irresistible and the surprisingly sweet taste – without any additives whatsoever – is amazing! Nutural World Pecan Butter is made of 100% pecan nuts – no sugar, no salt, no emulsifiers and no flavouring – just nuts. The creamy taste of the smooth variety is so good you can just spoon some straight from the jar. The crunchy variety is an absolute delight as a spread on toast or crackers.

Pecan Butter can also be used as an ingredient in savoury dishes or as a salad dressing. Both varieties can be used to enhance stir fries and oriental dishes such as Thai chicken curry and chicken satay. For desserts and sweet treats, Pecan Butter has a respectable range of uses as a main ingredient in baking cakes, cookies, fudge, etc. The use is really only bound by your imagination!

Health Benefits

Wikipedia states the following health benefits of Pecans:

Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. Like walnuts (which pecans resemble), pecans are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, although pecans contain about half as much omega-6 as walnuts. A diet rich in seeds can lower the risk of gallstones in women. The antioxidants and plant sterols found in pecans reduce high cholesterol by reducing the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels.

Clinical research published in the Journal of Nutrition (September 2001) found that eating about a handful of pecans each day may help lower cholesterol levels similar to what is often seen with cholesterol-lowering medications. Research conducted at the University of Georgia has also confirmed that pecans contain plant sterols, which are known for their cholesterol-lowering ability. Pecans may also play a role in neurological health. Eating pecans daily may delay age-related muscle nerve degeneration, according to a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts and published in Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research.

Another online source claims the following benefits associated with eating pecans:

1. Pecan nuts are a rich source of energy, providing 710 calories/100g and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for wellness.
2. The nuts are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid and an excellent source of phenolic antioxidants. Regular addition of pecan nuts in the diet helps to decrease total as well as LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increases HDL or “good cholesterol” levels in the blood. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which is rich in dietary-fibre, mono-unsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidants would help to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favouring healthy blood lipid profile.
3. Pecan nuts are rich source of many phyto-chemical substances that may contribute to their overall antioxidant activity, including polyphenolic antioxidant ellagic acid, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lutein and zea-xanthin. Research studies have been suggested that these compounds help the body remove toxic oxygen-free radicals and thus, protect the body from diseases, cancers, as well as infections.
4. Anti-proliferative properties of ellagic acid are because of its ability to inhibit DNA binding of certain carcinogens such as nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; thus protecting the human body from cancers.
5. Pecans are an excellent source of vitamin-E, especially rich in gamma-tocopherol; providing about 25g per 100g. Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.
6. The nuts are very rich sources of several important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. Together, these vitamins work as co-factors for the enzyme metabolism inside the human body.
7. The nuts are also rich source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

Add a handful of pecan nuts everyday to your diet to keep your diet meter complete with sufficient levels of minerals, vitamins and protein.

Nutrition Facts

Most of the calories (622 out of 710) are derived from the fat content. The good news is that the vast majority of that fat is of the GOOD variety! The chart below shows the proportion of good fats (green) in pecan nuts in relation to bad fats (in red).

The chart below shows good fats in Nuts, pecans, dry roasted, without salt added in relation to bad fats. Read side bar for more information about each type of fat and fatty acid.

Polyunsaturated Fats: Polyunsaturated fat can be found mostly in nuts, seeds, fish, algae, leafy greens, and krill. Whole food sources are always best, as processing and heating may damage polyunsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated Fats: Foods containing monounsaturated fats reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol, while possibly increasing HDL (good) cholesterol. [“You Can Control Your Cholesterol: A Guide to Low-Cholesterol Living”. Merck & Co. Inc.] Trans Fatty Acids: The National Academy of Sciences has concluded there is no safe level of trans fat consumption. This is because any incremental increase in trans fat intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease. [Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fibre, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). National Academies Press. p. 504].

Saturated Fats: Consumption of saturated fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the view of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, the American Heart Association, the British Heart Foundation, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand and the World Heart Federation.

Vitamins and Minerals

As noted above, Pecan Butter contains high concentrations of vital vitamins and minerals. See details below, along with the percentage of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of each, provided by 100g of Pecan Butter