nutty character (from pyrazines). Different
producers use different methods for curing
(none, brief, extended) and parching (low or
high temperatures, open fires or indirectly
heated metal drums), so the flavor of wild rice
varies greatly.
Domesticated Wild Rice Relatively little wild
rice is still gathered from uncultivated,
naturally occurring stands. Today most is
grown in artificially flooded paddies, and
harvested mechanically after the fields are
drained. Cultivated wild rice therefore has
more consistently mature, dark seedcoats than
the gathered grain. To taste truly wild rice
from its native region and savor the
differences among small producers, it’s
necessary to read labels carefully.
Maize, or Corn
Maize, known in the United States as “corn”