The Best Pecans I’ve Ever Had? Baldwin County

One of my favorite Fairhope stops—and how I’ve sent a little Southern happiness across the country.

The best pecans are right here in Baldwin County

I have eaten locally grown pecans in Florida, Georgia, and Texas. Between you and God, the best I’ve ever had were right here in Baldwin County.

That is my opinion, based on considerable enthusiasm and absolutely no laboratory equipment.

One of my favorite places to visit and buy from is B&B Pecan Company in Fairhope, just down the street from Group Retreat Fairhope. I’ve made friends and family across the country very happy by sending their offerings.

Some places become part of your life because you keep finding reasons to go back. B&B is one of mine.

A little local knowledge goes a long way

Here’s my inside tip: B&B Pecans has an efficient, affordable shipping operation. I’ve used it to spread the joy well beyond Alabama.

You can visit while you’re here, find something you love, and arrange to send a little of it home—or to somebody who would appreciate a good surprise.

Their selection includes natural pecans for baking and snacking, roasted and salted pecans, sweet pecan treats, and gift tins. This is the sort of shopping where buying something for someone else can turn into buying something for yourself.

I support both decisions.

And then there’s Divinity

B&B also offers Divinity.

If you grew up with it, you probably already have a person or a kitchen in mind. If you didn’t, it’s a light, whipped sugar candy traditionally made with egg whites and cooked syrup, often with vanilla and nuts.

It’s different from a praline, and it belongs on your list of Southern things to try.

Making it takes some finesse. Humidity can complicate getting it to set—which seems slightly unfair for a candy so at home in Southern kitchens.

Those of you whose mothers or grandmothers made it: did they check the weather before getting out the mixing bowl?

A family business with a good beginning

B&B’s story started in 1956, when Clarence and Sandra Bishop were expecting their first child. Sandra wanted a way to earn income while staying home with their children.

Her father, Calvin Brown, suggested a pecan retail and mail-order business. Clarence already worked in the wholesale pecan trade with his family.

They bought a small Fairhope mail-order operation with one pecan cracker and 200 customers. Bishop and Brown became B&B.

Seventy years later, the business still carries that family story. It also grows pecans on its Fairhope farm.

I like knowing there are people and years of work behind the things I send to my people.

Why do the pecans taste so good here?

I wanted an explanation for my Baldwin County preference. Is it the soil? The water? Our growing season? The way the pecans are handled?

There are several possibilities:

Variety matters. Pecans aren’t all the same. Researchers have found differences in flavor-related components among varieties and harvest years. The particular nut you’re eating may explain part of what you love.

Growing conditions matter. Water during kernel development, healthy foliage, soil drainage, and orchard care all influence the quality of the crop.

Handling matters, too. Pecans contain rich oils that help give them their flavor. Storage affects how well that flavor survives. B&B recommends refrigerating or freezing its pecans in airtight containers.

So I can’t tell you that Baldwin County has a secret ingredient in its soil. I can tell you that the pecans I’ve bought here have earned repeat purchases—and quite a few shipments.

My taste buds remain firmly committed.

Those groves have a history

Pecans were part of Indigenous food traditions long before the South’s commercial orchards.

Alabama’s pecan growers trace the emergence of Mobile and Baldwin County orchards to the early 1900s. By the early 1940s, pecan production had become a sizable industry.

Those groves you pass on a drive are part of a much longer local story: families, harvests, and generations of people learning how to grow a good crop.

Take a little Baldwin County home

If you’re staying at Group Retreat Fairhope, put B&B on your list.

Pick up something for the kitchen, something for the ride home, or something to send to someone you miss.

And locals, I want to hear from you:
What’s your favorite pecan variety, who made the Divinity in your family, and what do you think makes our pecans so good?

— Sheri