Minnesota Hand Harvested Wild Rice Manoomin

Description

**Will be in stock: October 2023**

Our Minnesota Hand Harvested Wild Rice is a unique and delicious product that is harvested by us personally on the lakes we know and love. The time-honored harvesting method for Wild Rice has been practiced for centuries by the Ojibwe tribes of northern Minnesota. It’s a tradition that continues today, with tribal and non-tribal members alike, harvesting this uniquely flavorful wild rice each autumn via canoes on the pristine lakes of the northwoods. The deep, rich flavor of Minnesota Hand Harvested Wild Rice is perfect for any meal, and it’s a great way to support and protect the lakes where Manoomin (wild rice) grows, as well as the local traditions of the Ojibwe people.

Unlike the mass-produced “paddy rice” you might find at the grocery store, the methods of harvesting true wild rice is via canoe. In teams of two, one person uses a push pole to glide the canoe through the still waters, while the other person uses two wooden (cedar) ‘knockers’ to brush the ripe rice into the canoe. This traditional practice ensures that some of the Wild Rice is knocked back into the water in order to help re-seed the plant for the next growing season. 

Every Autumn for about three weeks, my family and friends load up our canoes and head out on the lakes to harvest Wild Rice . Once harvested, we bag up the green rice, dry it on mats in the sun, and then work with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe for final processing (this final stage removes the outer husk and leaves the dry, storable product we all know and love to eat year-round!).