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| with Alison Anton • WholeGourmet.com | September, 2006 |
Known as "manoomin" to the indigenous peoples of Northern Minnesota, wild rice has a long history that, according to carbon dating, predates the prehistoric native cultures that used this grain by at least 1000 years. According to the ancient stories of manoomin that have been passed down through these cultures for centuries, manoomin is considered a highly respected and sacred food. It is also a crucial element to the ecology of the Northern Great Lakes region, with over 60,000 acres of wild rice growing naturally throughout these lakes and rivers. Historically, even well into the sixties, native families would camp at the lakeshore for weeks during the ricing season. They would rice during the day in teams of two, with a "poler" to navigate the canoe and a "knocker" to hit the rice into large birch baskets. The harvested rice would then be brought back to shore for processing. Over the past few decades, modernized wild rice has been developed to grow in commercially farmed paddies throughout the mid-western states and California. By far, most of the wild rice on the market today comes from these paddies rather than from the traditionally harvested, lake-grown sources. Much of this developed rice has been genetically modified (spliced with various genes from other species such as animal and bacteria) leaving the intrinsic nature and personality of the original plant in a violated state. With hundreds of thousands of pounds of this genetically modified rice coming into Minnesota to be processed each year, a considerable risk of contamination is at hand to the native rice grasses of the region. Since contamination of natural foods with genetically modified foods is at present irreversible, the indigenous tribes of this region wish to keep the integrity of their sacred manoomin as it has been for thousands of years. Even though the rice camps of the past no longer exist, there are a small handful of native-run rice mills where the rice is processed in the traditional manner. For the folks who operate these mills, locally processed native ricing is about retaining cultural history and a sense of pride within their communities. One such group is called Native Harvest, who produces and sells a selection of traditional native foods, including wild rice, hominy, maple syrup, and jellies. Consumers can pre-purchase bags of traditionally harvested manoomin for the holiday season now, and will also find special gifts via their on-line store. Visit them at NativeHarvest.org Since native crops are few and far between in our modern era of agriculture, remaining informed about these historically rich foods not only fosters more of an interest to preserve them, but also gives us a sense of appreciation as we enjoy their nostalgic flavors and intrinsic qualities. Known for its wondrously nutty flavor and chewy texture, wild rice is just one of these treasured native gems and has carried us through the harvest and holiday season for hundreds of years. Washington Post Article: U.S. Rice Supply Contaminated This recipe was given to me by my best friend Meg, who's family on her dad's side are from Minnesota. They pay a visit to Minnesota each year for some R&R on their little Rainy Lake, and I thought this recipe would be a perfect accompaniment to my article on manoomin, Minnesota's native grain. This salad also happens to be one of my all-time faves, especially in the Indian summer, when the weather is still warm, yet is transitioning into the new autumn season. Dressing Salad Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Toss the warm rice with the lemon juice and cool to room temperature. Add the chicken slices, scallions, red pepper and snow peas to the rice and toss with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours. Just before serving, slice the avocado and gently toss the slices and the toasted pecans into the salad. Spoon on top of lettuce leaf beds.
Barley Malt and Brown Rice SyrupsMalting is a process that uses a grains’ own enzymes to break down the sugars in the grain. The end result is a sweet syrup that is roughly fifty percent complex carbohydrates and fifty percent simple sugars, which makes them less sweet than refined cane sugars and easier for the body to metabolize. I recommend combining brown rice or malt syrups with other natural sweeteners for the best flavor and texture in baked goods of all kinds -- my favorite choice being fruit puree. Blending with fruit puree before mixing the syrup in with your other ingredients also helps these thick goopy syrups to incorporate better. For best results, throw your choice of fruit (soaked dates, raisins, prunes, dried figs, bananas or applesauce) and the syrup into a food processor and blend until pureed. Add this puree to your wet ingredients before blending with the dry. To replace white sugar with brown rice or malt syrup in your favorite recipes, replace the sugar with an equal amount of the syrup (or a combination of syrup and fruit puree) and decrease a liquid ingredient, like milk, by 1/4 (i.e. if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, replace that with 1 cup syrup. If it calls for 1 cup of milk, decrease the milk to 3/4 cup.) If the recipe does not call for a liquid ingredient, decrease a dry ingredient, like flour, by 1/4. Barley malt and brown rice syrup usually come in glass bottles in the baking or sugar section of your local natural foods market, and are also becoming readily available at some commercial grocery stores. These syrups should really be stored in the refrigerator. To soften the cold syrup, soak the jar in very hot water for 10-15 minutes. |
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With the vast array of foods available to us today from all over the world, it's hard to find one that is, in fact, native to our own land. In the stew of hundreds of thousands of foods, wild rice stands as one of these rare jewels.
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Copyright ©2006 - Alison Anton - All rights reserved |