What is the history on wild rice?

Answer 1

Wild rice has been eaten by the Algonquin, Chippewa, Dakota, Fox, Ojibwa, Sioux, and Winnebago people since long before European explorers arrived in North America. The Chippewa carried small pouches of wild rice with them whenever they traveled. By the early part of the 20th century, only the clear lakes and rivers of the most northern regions of Minnesota could still support the growth of wild rice. About 80% of the wild rice grown in the United States today is cultivated in paddies, a practice that began about 1972. The seeds do not grow well in stagnant water, and growers had to develop varieties that adapted to their new environment. With cultivated hybrid varieties are developed to mature at the same time. The plants are then completely cut down, and processed by machines. In the final stages of processing, rubber rollers remove the hulls and create small cuts in the grain that shortens the cooking process. Though wild rice is mostly associated with the United States and Canada, it is also grown in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Southern China. China grows another species, sometimes called Manchurian wild rice, which is not eaten for the grains, but for their broad leaves are used to wrap dumplings, and the young shoots are cooked and eaten like asparagus.