A Field of
Carolina Gold Rice
Carolina Gold Rice
Considered the grandfather of
long grain rices in the Americas, Carolina Gold (which emanated
from Africa and Indonesia) became a commercial staple grain in the
coastal lands of Charles Towne in the Carolina Territory by 1685.
Possessing superior flavor, aroma, texture and cooking qualities
(and a beautiful golden hue in the fields), Carolina Gold rice
brought fortunes to those who produced it and created an
influential culture and cuisine in the city of Charleston. Though
the culture and cuisine disappeared with the Civil War, Carolina
Gold continued to set quality standards for long grain rice well
into the 20th century. In fact, the terms "Carolina Rice" and "long
grain" became interchangeable worldwide, underscoring the impact of
Charleston's contribution to Colonial Carolina Gold Rice
production.
After the Depression Carolina Gold rice lost its prominence to new
varieties and became virtually extinct. But in the mid 1980s Dr.
Richard Schulz, an eye surgeon and plantation owner from Savannah
collected stores of Carolina Gold from a USDA seed bank and
repatriated the rice to its former home along coastal wetlands
around Charleston. By 1986 he produced enough rice to sell.
Anson Mills began growing Carolina Gold rice
sustainably in 1998, and today has organic CGR fields in Georgia,
North and South Carolina, and Texas.
ANSON MILLS ARTISAN MILLING
Carolina Gold rice owed much of its appeal historically to the way
in which it was milled. In Colonial times, African slave women were
tasked daily to hand pound and winnow hulls from the grains with
mortar, pestle and fanner basket. This exceptional rice, scrubbed
white through abrasion, contained whole and broken grains-- with
germ and flecks of bran intact--that held exquisite flavor and
texture. Anson Mills returns this style of Carolina Gold Rice to
the contemporary table with state of the art milling technology
designed by engineers in California and Japan.