claim is obviously false. By definition, 
a nonshattering strain of rice is a ge- 
netically different variety from the 
majority of naturally occurring plants. 
And the state of Minnesota is full 
of diehards like Ron Libertus, an Ojib- 
way art historian and special services 
director for the Minnesota Depart- 
ment of Natural Resources, who will 
tell you that paddy rice is “a different 
product,” cured longer to soften the 
harder seed, darker in color, ulti- 
mately quite different in taste. Paddy 
people deny this. 
To test the claims of both sides, 
I collected six samples of lake and 
paddy rice. All the paddy rice had 
been industrially processed, except for 
one package parched and jigged in 
an exhibition of Indian techniques. 
The lake rice came from three dif- 
ferent sources; one sample had been 
prepared by hand (foot?). I cooked 
them all until they began to split so 
that they would be chewy or what 
Italians would call al dente. Not all 
the rice turned out this way. 
At one extreme, the jigged paddy 
rice turned to mush in minutes without 
passing through an intermediate, 
chewy stage that I could detect. At 
the other extreme, the very light and 
delicate, Indian home-processed rice 
was so light, subtle, and fluffy that 
it approached true rice in appearance 
and flavor. Frankly, I preferred the 
four intermediate varieties, which all 
had the gutsier, chewier, smokier con- 
ventional taste of wild rice, whether 
they came from lakes or paddies. No 
doubt, the lake varieties had a gentler 
feel on the tongue, a higher color, 
and perhaps a greater complexity of 
taste. But the distinction seemed to 
me a very thin one. From lakes or 
paddies all four samples tasted very 
good with roast duck. 
Ultimately, as paddy cultivation im- 
proves its genetic base and expands 
still further, it may reduce lake har- 
vesting to the status of a colorful 
hobby. At the moment, however, il- 
logical prices notwithstanding, the 
market is absorbing lake and paddy 
production almost indiscriminately. 
Nevertheless, the advent of paddy rice 
has already had one clear result. More 
than a century too late, Longfellow 
has been vindicated. Minnesotans are 
finally harvesting wild rice on dry 
land. 
Raymond Sokolov is a free-lance 
writer whose special interest is the 
history and preparation of food. 
Basic Preparation of Wild Rice 
1 cup wild rice 
Salt 
1. Put rice and 1 teaspoon salt in a 
saucepan with 3 cups water. 
2. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and 
simmer, covered, for about 30 min- 
utes. It is impossible to give a pre- 
cise cooking time. Some small- 
grained, highly polished varieties 
will cook quickly. Others will take 
longer, up to 50 minutes. But wild 
rice is not nearly so sensitive as 
ordinary rice. By all means uncover 
the pan and taste as often as you 
like. If cooked too long, wild rice 
turns to mush and loses much of 
its taste and nutritional value. But 
if you catch it just as the grains 
begin to split, it will have an ap- 
pealingly crunchy texture and a 
nutty flavor. 
3. Drain and serve. Leftover rice will 
keep for several days under refrig- 
eration. Or it can be frozen. It will 
also stand up to reheating very 
nicely, especially if it has not been 
overcooked the first time around. 
Yield: About 4 cups or 6 servings 
Wild Rice Muffins 
(Adapted from Wild Rice For All Seasons Cookbook, by Beth Anderson. 
$6.95 postpaid from Minnehaha Publishing, Suite 406, 625 Second Avenue, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402) 
2 
5 
1 
l'/4 
1 
Vi 
3 
1 . 
cup cooked wild rice 
eggs, lightly beaten 
tablespoons oil 
cup milk 
cups flour 
tablespoon baking powder 
teaspoon salt 
tablespoons sugar 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
Grease a 12-muffin tin. 
2. Stir the wild rice together with the 
eggs, oil, and milk in a mixing bowl. 
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, 
salt, and sugar in another bowl. 
Stir together until well mixed. 
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the 
liquid ingredients, gradually and 
thoroughly, until blended. 
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin 
cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until 
lightly browned. 
Yield: 1 dozen muffins 
102 
