The summer months are the time of the year to slow down and appreciate the fantastic tastes. Think about that delicious moment of the first sip of ice cold sweet tea, and a bite of pecan pie fresh from the oven. Our friends at WattpadFestivals are all about celebrating the summer with good fun and today, while enjoying a piece of pie, they want to know all about you. Head out to their Summer Holidays celebration!

There are various ideas about the origins of pecan pie. There are those who state that the French first made it soon after settling in New Orleans in the 1700s and being introduced to the pecan by the Native Americans of the area. Other claim pecan pie was first made in the early 1800s in Alabama; however, no recipes or other culinary literature has been found that would support either of those claims. The first actual pecan pie recipe was written in 1886. Originally, pecans were mixed with custard, boiled, and then poured into a crust and baked. Well-known cookbooks such as Fannie Farmer and The Joy of Cooking did not include this dessert until 1940.

The makers of Karo syrup significantly popularized pecan pie. Their company has claimed the pie was a "discovery" in the 1930s by a corporate sales executive's wife as a "new use for corn syrup", which was often used instead of the more expensive honey or maple syrup.

Pecan pie has been mentioned numerous times in American literature and television and has even become a literary symbol of the Southern United States, as can be observed in the Zac Brown Band's lyric:

Beneath the shade of a Georgia pine
And that's home you know
Sweet tea, pecan pie and homemade wine
Where the peaches grow.

The delicious pecan pie is made primarily with corn syrup, pecan nuts, salt and vanilla flavoring with some variations including sugar syrup and molasses or maple syrup. Chocolate and bourbon whiskey are common additions in some regions of the country. Pecan pie is often served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.