Culture and Wild Rice

There is a great difference between Cultivated Wild Rice, or Paddy Wild Rice and Lake Wild Rice, both in the production methods and the final product.

Earl Hoagland Winnowing Manoomin, Tamarac Refuge 2005

Cultivated wild rice, or paddy rice is grown in diked paddies in Minnesota and California. The cultivated wild rice industry began in the 1950's when researchers at the University of Minnesota, through cross breeding, created a variety of wild rice that could grow in a paddy, and be harvested with a combine. Production methods today don't differ much today from when paddy rice was first introduced. The paddy rice is planted in a flooded diked paddy, fertilizers, herbicides, and other chemcals are applied, the wild rice grows, and then when it's time for the harvest, the paddies are drained, and the paddy rice is harvested with a combine.

There are approximately 25,000 acres of paddy rice in Minnesota.

Natural Lake wild rice is not planted, nor is it cultivated. It grows naturally on the lakes and rivers of Northern Minnesota, and other parts of the Great Lakes region, and is harvested by two people in a canoe using a push pole and two wooden sticks.

The finished product of paddy rice is a long black grain that you can find on most grocery store shelves. The difference between paddy rice and wild rice is most evident in the duration of cooking. A favorite joke among most conossieurs of real wild rice illustrates this point. "How to Cook Paddy Rice: Put rice and water in a pot with a stone. When the stone is soft the rice is almost done". Natural Hand harvested lake wild rice varies in color and size because of the natural biodiversity, but is usually a light brown color and has an amazing aroma. It cooks in about 20-30 minutes.