How to Harvest Wild Rice

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Find a large area inhabited by wild rice and with shallow water that is relatively easy to pole through.

   You can use two wooden sticks called knockers; see the video below for the motion needed. , The arrays of spikelets at the top of the plant harbor caterpillars (called rice worms), small rice hoppers, several species of spiders, ladybird beetles, and other insects.
   
   The carpet of rice on the bottom of the canoe will probably be teeming with life. ,, The trick here is to dry the rice and make the "husks" brittle, but not burn the rice.
   
   It takes a moment to work out the temperature.
   
   It's useful to remove the pan every now and again, along with lots of moving and flipping of the rice.
   
   Here are the parched rice grains, which turn a golden brown after being heated (they were very light tan). ,, Use the balls of your feet and move your heels left and right, twisting the "hulls" off the grains.
   
   For this process, you need something that grips the rice, like braintan (or rubber soles are used a lot today).
   
   You do not stamp up and down on the rice (this doesn't accomplish the prying and twisting that is needed to rip the "hulls" off). ,, Much of it flies away within the "vacuum" that is created by the downward motion of the bowl, and other, larger material can be cleared by the hand or blown away with a light breath. , Notice that there are lots of long grains (some broken ones too), but no chaff to get in the way of enjoying the rice.
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   Step 2: Have one person pole the canoe slowly through the wild rice.

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   Step 3: Have another person knock the stems after bending them over into the canoe so the loose spikelets will drop into the canoe bottom.

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   Step 4: Collect the wild rice on a tarp.

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   Step 5: Let the rice dry out (takes about 2-3 days of dry weather).

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   Step 6: Place the rice in a very large iron pan and parch it over the coals.

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   Step 7: Once parched

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   Step 8: put the rice in a pit lined with a hide.

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   Step 9: The point now is to do the twist.

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    Step 10: After the rice has been thoroughly trodden on (it took about 10 minutes for this small batch)

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    Step 11: it is taken out and placed in a large container for winnowing.

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    Step 12: The winnowing is done with a downward motion of the container

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    Step 13: which moves all the chaff to the front of the bowl (away from the person winnowing)

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    Step 14: where it can be rather easily removed.

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    Step 15: Here is the completed

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    Step 16: winnowed rice.

Detailed Guide

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