Our Chocolate Story

In the mid 90’s, Mary and Al were looking to add a new item to the Pearson Farm Retail Store’s ever growing inventory and chocolate covered pecans seemed like a winner. Mary knew that no ordinary chocolate would be good enough to dress her family’s signature pecans. They came from trees her husband Al nurtured and cared for daily. These pecans were the legacy of trees her father-in- law and grand-father-in law planted many years ago. These weren’t just any pecans, they were Pearson Farm Pecans!

After calling vendors who sold chocolate she enjoyed, Mary quickly realized this was not going to be any easy task. Thankfully, she was able to glean the specific type of chocolate she would need, but locating someone who sold it in the United States, much less, someone willing to cover their pecans in it, proved difficult!

The Pearson’s were able to find and visit a few candy companies willing to coat their pecans, but they used compound chocolate. Many of you may understand the numerous and delicious varieties of chocolate, but for those who don’t know the difference between compound and pure, here’s a basic overview. Compound chocolate is a combination of cocoa powder, vegetable oil and sweeteners. The finished product is a shiny, thick coating of sweetness. It’s good BUT it doesn’t hold a candle to pure chocolate. They eventually found a candy maker who used pure chocolate, but the flavor was off a bit due to their tempering practices, so the search continued.

In 1998, a gift from the candy gods fell into their laps, the name of a chocolatier in Pennsylvania. A family owned business, original recipes, the finest, all natural ingredients, made by hand… sound familiar?? Like Pearson Farm, their work ethic and quest for superior products was the foundation of their business. A trip to this small candy shop sealed the deal. The Pearson’s had finally found the chocolate worthy of dressing their beloved pecans. Mary knew that the marriage of her family’s wonderful pecans and this incredible chocolate would be a match made in heaven. Her tireless pursuit of excellence was such a labor of love and beautiful complement to her farmer’s love for the pecans he was producing.

Today, 20+ years later, we continue to ship hundreds of pounds of our Pearson Farm pecans to this small chocolate shop in Pennsylvania.   It is difficult to describe with words the unique combination of our Signature pecan halves placed on a bed of dark chocolate then double enrobed in Belgium milk chocolate! The finishing touch is a “P”, hand scrolled on each decadent morsel.   They also create for us an extravagant chocolate pecan cluster that is filled with caramel and our Signature pecan pieces. The recent addition of chocolate pecan bark rounds out our chocolate lineup!

If you have never tasted our chocolate pecans, we invite you to indulge yourself or lavish a loved one with a gift box this Valentine season. We promise, it will be the sweetest decision you’ll make today.