Go wild!

Years ago, mahnomen—we know it as wild rice—was a well-kept secret among the Aboriginal Peoples, for whom it was a staple and even the source of legends surrounding its origin. Today, wild rice is valued not only for its rich history, but also for its versatility in cooking, nutritional value, and one-of-a-kind taste and texture.

Since 1915, Du Bois Wild Rice Ltd. has been harvesting certified-organic wild rice from the shores of several lakes in Manitoba. Its primary yield comes from a 1260-acre lake about two hours northeast of Winnipeg called Lac du Bois, the largest natural wild rice field in Canada.

“My great-grandfather and grandfather were surveying for the Dominion of Canada and observed aboriginal people harvesting and processing wild rice in Lac du Bois,” recalls Judy Skrzenta, who now runs the fourth-generation company along with her two siblings and with the help of her father. “I’m intrigued by its history—it’s not a new product.”

Indeed, it seemed as though Skrzenta’s relatives were also intrigued. The two men formed a company—Williams Wild Rice Farm—to explore the commercial viability of wild rice and slowly mastered the art of harvesting, curing, parching and hulling it. Their operation eventually grew from two-man canoes into one of the world’s largest producers of natural wild rice and a leader in modern harvesting methods, with Du Bois Wild Rice incorporated in 1968.

While most people think wild rice belongs to the rice family, it bears no relation to white rice. Rather, it’s a grain—actually an aquatic grass—native to North America, growing naturally in the Precambrian shield. It’s usually found in shallow water along the shores of rivers, streams and lakes, where the current is slow and water levels do not fluctuate much. And like other Manitoban wild rice producers, Du Bois harvests its rice from a natural body of water rather than having it cultivated or paddy-grown, as is common with wild rice producers in other countries.

With a late August/early September harvest time, wild rice used to be harvested entirely by hand, with early Aboriginal Peoples gently bending the stalks across their canoes and tapping them to release their grains. Du Bois now uses air boats to speed up the picking process, which can be extremely laborious—because wild rice does not ripen all at once like other grains, it’s necessary for the fields to be picked as many as eight times.

In addition to the help from the air boats, Skrzenta says Du Bois also employs hand-pickers from the Sagkeeng First Nation, who harvest using the traditional methods her relatives observed almost a century earlier. The grains are processed at the company’s own lakeside plant and then travel to packaging and storage facilities in Winnipeg.

Since the company began exporting in the 1970s, Du Bois has supplied its lake-grown product to the retail, restaurant and hotel trades around the world, with about half of it heading overseas—everywhere from the United Kingdom to Japan to New Zealand— and half staying here in Canada. Winnipeg foodies can find it at places like Scoop n’ Weigh, the Almond Tree, Scoop & Save Health Foods, Fresh Option Organic Delivery and Ducks Unlimited at Oak Hammock Marsh.

Skrzenta attributes part of the grain’s popularity to its unique properties and excellent value, given the fact that it quadruples in volume when cooked. “It’s easy to keep, easy to prepare and very unique in flavour and texture,” she says, adding one of her favourite ways to prepare it is by simply mixing it with mushrooms, onions and butter. “So many people today are going vegetarian or vegan, so it’s perfect for them.”

And not only is it renowned for its chewy texture and rich, almost nutty, flavour, but wild rice packs quite the nutritional punch, too. Completely additive-free, it’s rich in fibre and a variety of minerals and vitamins, including niacin, thiamine and riboflavin, and is also low in fat and calories—a half-cup serving contains only 65 calories.

Despite not yielding crops for the past two years due to the heavy rains Manitoba experienced during a delicate stage of the plants’ growth, Skrzenta remains passionate about the family business. She hopes it stays in the family for years to come—and if it doesn’t, that someone who values it as much as she does takes over. “It’s a lifestyle, really. I love the history behind it, that it’s truly a native Manitoban product that we can offer the world,” she says. “I truly believe in what I am selling.”