Customer Reviews

Wild Rice Cooking: History, Natural History, Harvesting, and Lore

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I spent my childhood on the Great Lakes, where I was introduced to wild rice sixty years ago. Back then wild rice was a rare luxury - like buying jewelry. Wild Rice has been my absolute favorite food ever since.

Wild rice always had a spiritual appeal to me.

Wild rice only grows in the Great Lakes region, and no where else in the world - so this unique native U.S. food, with its association with American Indians, also has a patriotic appeal. Ironically, I purchased my copy of this book in the gift shop of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. - which adds to this book's special attraction. This book should remain a permanent offering at the Museum of the American Indian's gift shop.

Unlike so many cookbooks, a very high percentage of this book's 80 recipes are strongly appealing as particularly tasty - they all are "just the right sort" of wild rice recipes. Many of these recipes are family or personal favorites that were contributed to the author.

All of my life, finding information about wild rice was like seeking the Holy Grail - almost an impossible endeavor. So this book is extremely welcome - it has no competitors, and is a potential classic. The author lives in Minnesota - in the heart of wild rice country - where this charming book received the 2001 "Minnesota Book Award" (her second book to win this award).

My only disappointment is that this book did not contain more nutritional information about wild rice - this Minnesota author seems well positioned to easily obtain this information, which should be readily available from local Indian sources and wild rice information centers.

I hope this book stays in print - it's a gem and potential classic. I will certainly purchase any revised and expanded editions.

This is a fascinating, all encompassing read about black rice in our country (or, is it a grain?). The author takes you along as she personally harvests a wild crop near her home in the way that our Native Americans always have, then describes the stages of processing, and later reveals how its modern cultivation came about. Comparisons among the various species are explained, and photos advise what an undercooked versus overcooked product looks like. Incorporated throughout the book's myriad other facts are numerous recipes for everything from breakfasts to dinners to snacks (did you know you can pop wild rice?). I found this a very fun read and will never again leave my pantry bare of the "manoomin" that I've loved for years, but which I'll now appreciate even more.