| 1 | 1 | | By: Schwertner S.C.R. No. 12 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | (Farney) |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Of all the Lone Star State's unique culinary dishes, |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | perhaps none says "Texas" more sweetly than pecan pie; and |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The pecan tree, which was officially designated as |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | the state tree in 1919, is indigenous to North America and native to |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | 152 counties in Texas, where it grows in river valleys; the State |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Health Nut, the pecan is the state's only commercially grown nut, |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | and Texas pecan growers account for more than 20 percent of all the |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | pecans grown in the United States; and |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | WHEREAS, Though there are many ways to enjoy pecans, it is |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | practically a given among Texans that they belong, first and |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | foremost, in a pie; the earliest record of this distinctive dessert |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | dates to the late 19th century; the weekly humor magazine Texas |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | Siftings described it in February 1886 as being "not only |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | delicious" but "capable of being made into a 'real state pie,'" and |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | in March 1914, the Christian Science Monitor featured a recipe for |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | "Texas Pecan Pie" with a custard filling that called for a cup of |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | sweet milk, a cup of sugar, three well-beaten eggs, a tablespoon of |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | flour, and half a cup of "finely chopped pecan meats"; and |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, It was around 1930 when the pie became the |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | syrup-based creation it is today; the wife of an executive at the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | Karo Syrup Company combined that product with pecans to make a pie, |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | and it proved to be an irresistible mixture; the pie subsequently |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | gained national recognition through advertisements forever linking |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | the syrup with pecans in the public's mind; recipes for pecan pie |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | began appearing in such popular cookbooks as The Joy of Cooking and |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in the 1940s, and it became a staple in |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | restaurants across the state and nation; and |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Pecan pie recipes are varied and numerous, with |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | differences regarding the sugar-to-syrup ratio and the size and |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | consistency of the nuts, and are a matter of debate, strong opinion, |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | and deeply held family tradition; yet Texans generally agree on two |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | things: Texas pecan pies are, hands down, the best, especially when |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | made with Texas pecans by a Texan, and secondly, whether served hot |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | or cold, with a scoop of ice cream or without, pecan pie is indeed |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | the perfect ending to any meal; now, therefore, be it |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | hereby designate pecan pie as the official State Pie of Texas. |
|---|