The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - October 13th, 2005
     

GO FOR THE GOLD: Historic Low country rice is being revived as coveted gourmet grain
 by Elizabeth Lee

Carolina Gold rice is a grain with a past gilded in wealth and shadowed by slavery. Once so prevalent in South Carolina that it inspired a cuisine, Carolina Gold slipped virtually out of existence for much of the last century.

A handful of landowners grew a few acres over the years, captivated by the rice's history and its burnished appearance when ripe. A small number of knowledgeable cooks prized Carolina Gold for its unusual starch properties, which allow it to be cooked to creamy perfection in risottos or fluffed, with every grain separate, in Hoppin' John.

The fledgling Carolina Gold Rice Foundation hopes to tap into renewed interest in artisan foods and locally grown, sustainable agriculture. That effort includes the first symposium on the rice, held this summer, that brought together top Charleston chefs, academics and growers. It also includes a concerted effort to increase the availability of the rice.

Glenn Roberts, president and CEO of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation and owner of the boutique milling company Anson Mills, hopes that showcasing the rice in upscale restaurants will persuade consumers to seek it out. Higher demand will boost Carolina Gold's chance of surviving outside of seed banks and promote biodiversity, saving its unique genetic coding, Roberts said. In Atlanta, he supplies the rice to Bacchanalia and Woodfire Grill, known for their support of local, sustainable agriculture.

Yet there's more to reviving Carolina Gold than wooing consumers with its delicately nutty taste and storied past. The challenges include the most basic demands of farming and food processing, as well as appealing to cooks who may balk at paying $5 a pound or more for white rice.

Before the Civil War Carolina Gold rice, prized for its quality, made rice planters some of the wealthiest men in America. Rice fields stretched along the coast from north Florida to Wilmington, N.C. The grain was the bedrock of the region's cuisine, the Carolina Rice Kitchen, which encompassed rice puddings, breads and pirlaus as well as the migratory birds that fed on rice seed.
 

Glenn Roberts hand harvests Carolina Gold rice from a field near the Stono River in South Carolina.
.............................................

But the same boggy fields that aided rice cultivation helped doom it after the Civil War. Without slaves to work fields too soft for mechanical harvesting, the rice industry dwindled. A hurricane finished it off. The rice industry moved to Texas, Arkansas and other states, where firmer soil and higher-yielding varieties made farming more profitable. Carolina Gold was relegated to U.S. Department of Agriculture seed banks.

Still, over the years, Carolina Gold kept resurfacing in the state that gave it its name.

Establishing a precise pedigree for Carolina Gold has been difficult. It's considered the ancestor of long-grain rice in the United States and shares genetic links with grains still widely cultivated.

"You can't just say 'Oh, yeah, this is an heirloom,' you have to be able to prove it," Roberts said. "We want to show there is a distinct attractive flavor and texture and there is a sense of comfort. It doesn't come from Uncle Ben's."
 

 
Our recipes are copyright protected. Reproduction of any content or images on this site without the written permission of Anson Mills is prohibited.