Nourishing Heritage

Discover the rich history and nutritional benefits of wild rice, a treasured North American grain, also called Manomin.

"Wild Rice is the most nutritive single food which the Indians of North America consume. The Indian diet of this grain, combined with maple sugar, and with bison, deer, and other meats, was probably richer than that of average American family of today." - Albert E. Jenkins, Wild Rice and The Ojibway People

The History of Wild Rice

Wild Rice is an aquatic cereal grain that grows "wild" in isolated lakes and river bed areas located primarily within the continent of North America. It is also native to ecologically similar regions located on the continent of Asia. This evolutionary ancient grain has been found in layers of the earth dating back some 12,000 years. In addition to its role as an important food staple for ancestral peoples, it has provided a unique habitat for fish and waterfowl for thousands of years.

Wild Rice is the grain of a reed-like aquatic plant (Zizania palustris), which is unrelated to rice. It is grown in the United States and also in Canada. The grains are long, slender and black, with a distinctive earthy, nutty flavor. It is available in three different grades: giant, which is a very long grain and the best quality; fancy, which is a medium grain and of lesser quality; and select, which is a short grain.

Wild Rice is an annual grass which grows naturally in many Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes. The Chippewa word for grain or berry is "min". The word "mano", meaning good, makes "manomin" (good berry). Wild rice was known by th name manomin to the Chippewas and to most of the early white explorers and settlers of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Throughout the years, there have been 60 popular names identified for wild rice. English terms were numerous but the most commonly accepted name became wild rice. By whatever name, many of the Indigenous Peoples of North America consider the wild varieties of lake and river wild rice to be "A Gift from the Great Spirit...the Creator Himself", spiritually sacred and therefore distinct from the cultivated or farm grown varieties. Today, the wild varieties and the cultivated or farm grown varieties of wild rice remain an especially important crop for both lake and river producers and modern day farmers.

Manomin gave its name to the moon (month) of harvest, which is typically the end of August to early September in northern Minnesota. Harvest time can be fun, but a lot of hard work is involved, especially processing the grain on the spot, even with some modern aids. This native grass has a very large, erect, branched inflorescence which produces edible grains. Wild-rice usually grows in water and is often planted as wildlife food. Manomin grows as reeds that are anywhere from 8-12 ft. tall. They grow in water that is about 3-8 feet deep in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and marshes north of the Great Lakes. There are thousands of different varieties, each kind growing in its own particular place of depth, temperature, mud, water quality. Wild rice is very sensitive to the environmental conditions of its niche. The plants do not like changes; the species are perfectly adapted to the way things are in different areas, including seasonal water levels, quality, temperature.

Harvesting Wild Rice

The methods used to harvest rice have remained unchanged for centuries. A canoe is pushed through the rice beds with a long forked pole. The "poler" stands in the front, while the "knocker" sits in the rear of the canoe. The knocker uses two carved cedar sticks to harvest the rice grains. The knocker will use a stick to gently bend the rice stalks over the side of the canoe and the other stick to stroke or tap the rice kernels off the stalk. Some kernels fall into the water to re-seed the rice bed. Past generations would process the "green" rice at the landing using traditional methods. Today, the rice is put into large bags upon returning to the landing and taken to rice processing facilities.

Historically, rice was dried by spreading it out on birch bark or blankets on the ground and continuously raking it to allow the air and sun to dry it. The rice was allowed to dry for a day or two. Another method used was to spread the rice out on drying racks constructed from green branches and grass and then by placing the racks over the fire. With the introduction of the cast-iron kettle during the fur trade era, parching became the preferred drying method. The rice is roasted in a cast-iron kettle over a fire and stirred with a cedar paddle. Parchers know the rice is properly dried when they pinch a kernel between their fingers and the kernel breaks. Parching usually takes about an hour to complete. After parching, the rice kernel is further loosened from the hull by strenuous foot thrashing, also known as "jigging." The common method of jigging is to dig a small pit in the earth, line it with wood slats or a blanket, place a closed bag of rice into the pit, and start treading. To assist balance and help the treader control the amount of weight applied to the rice, two poles are placed alongside the pit in a V-shape. The final step in processing wild rice is "winnowing," or tossing the rice in the air. Using a winnowing basket, or "nooshkaachinaaganan," the rice is tossed in the air numerous times to allow the lighter weight chaff to blow away, leaving the rice kernels ready for cooking or long-term storage.

Wild rice was a staple food of American Indians. It is also a food for wild birds and waterfowl, especially mallard, bobolink, blackbirds, and Carolina rail. It has been a luxury food that has complimented wild game dishes for many years, but only when harvested from lakes and rivers. However, during the last fifteen years, since its cultivation, wild rice has become more plentiful and can be found in many stores. One of the most famous Indian dishes was tassimanonny, which is wild rice, corn, and fish boiled together. Perhaps its greatest fame is when it is used as side dish with (or inside) wild gamebirds, ducks, pheasants, quail, and turkeys. Aquatic birds readily stuff themselves with wild rice, which may constitute more than 10% of the stomach contents of black ducks, mallards, and wood ducks. Today, because of its increased abundance, wild rice is used in a variety of ways. It is used in place of potatoes, either alone or mixed with other rice, in soups, salads and even deserts.