Sampling the local flavor

All About Food | October 20th, 2016

By Ben Haugmo

benhaugmo@yahoo.com

Wild rice is a crop that is marked by its “terroir,” or the unique texture, flavor, and other characteristics that are impacted by its growing environment. It’s a food that tastes like where it comes from. Each strain of wild rice is different, depending on the body of water it’s raised in. It stands to reason that in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, there’s a lot of room for variance.

The Nemath Art Center in Park Rapids, in partnership with the White Earth Nation, will be celebrating the unique qualities of Minnesota-grown wild rice with the first-ever Wild Rice Festival. The event will feature music, art, and of course, information on preparing wild rice.

Michael Dagen, the executive director of the Nemath Art Center, has been working to coordinate the event for the past eight months.

“It’s a showcase of regional art and musicians,” said Dagen. “It’s also a celebration of the wild rice resource that’s unique to our part of the world. We’re trying to showcase the natural wild rice and trying to let people know the difference between authentic wild rice and paddy rice.”

Black paddy rice, unlike wild rice, is planted in rows, cultivated, and harvested with a combine. It therefore can lose out on the effect that different conditions can have on wild rice.

“The land will affect the taste of the wild rice,” said Dagen, “the size of it, and the way it cooks up. Some wild rice is larger than others, some puffs up more than others, so it’s kind of different depending on where it comes from.”

Another difference comes from the fact that black paddy rice is often parched with just steam, while wild rice is usually parched over wood. This contributes a smoky flavor to the wild rice.

The festival also features a wild rice hotdish competition, judged by celebrity chef Amy Thielen. Thielen is a Park Rapids native who has cooked professionally in New York City, written books on Midwestern cooking, and has even been featured on Food Network. One key to impressing her in the competition is using authentic wild rice.

“I’m going to be looking for originality, first and foremost” said Thielen. “Something that would disqualify an entry would be using black paddy rice. This festival is about celebrating the wild rice that grows right here in this region. It grows naturally, and it has for forever, almost--hundreds and hundreds of years. The kind that grows here, that’s harvested by hand, and wood parched is what I’m really looking for.”

For many in the area, wild rice has always been indicative of fall, made part of the seasonal traditions for many years. “My husband and I harvest our own rice right in our front yard,” said Thielen, “and bring it to a parcher on White Earth, not too far from here. It’s a great fall ritual that we’ve been doing for years. It’s something so many people in this town do and celebrate.”

The Wild Rice Festival is a new event, but it is hoped that it will become part of the traditions in both Park Rapids and for the White Earth Nation. “I am definitely most excited about the collaboration between the White Earth Nation and the Park Rapids community,” said Dagen. “Both groups have wanted to work together on something and we’re hoping this becomes an annual event that allows us to come together as neighbors and celebrate the season.”

For a taste of the best of Minnesota has to offer, stop by Park Rapids for the Wild Rice Festival this Saturday.

IF YOU GO:

Wild Rice Fest

October 22-23 from 10:00 a.m. to midnight

Armory Square, 203 Park Ave S, Park Rapids, Minn.

Tickets available at http://www.nemethartcenter.org/