| Carolina Gold rice | |
|---|---|
 Enslaved Africans cultivating Carolina gold rice in South Carolina on Snee farm plantation. | |
| Species | Oryza glaberrima (Steud.) |
| Origin | South Carolina Lowcountry and the Sea Islands |
Carolina Gold rice is a variety of African rice first popularized in South Carolina, USA in the 1780s.[1] It is named for the golden color of its unhulled grains.[2][3]
History
Rice was grown in South Carolina (in the South Carolina Lowcountry) by enslaved people, and led to enormous wealth. [3] It was a staple of Lowcountry cuisine, and at the outset of the Civil War, 3.5 million of the 5 million bushels of rice produced in the United States were Carolina Gold rice. Over subsequent decades it declined in popularity until the last commercial crop was harvested in 1927.[4]
In the 1980s, Dr. Richard and Patricia Schulze became interested in the variety while restoring rice ponds on their vacation property in Hardeeville, South Carolina.[4] They found out that a USDA center on rice research in Texas had retained a stock of it in its seed bank. After obtaining and planting 14 pounds, they harvested 64 pounds in the first season. By 1988, they were harvesting 10,000 pounds per year.[5]
Two commercial efforts, Anson Mills and Carolina Plantation Rice, began selling the variety to the general public in 1998, after an effort at Clemson University had bred a disease-resistant strain. While Riviana Foods sells rice under the brand name Carolina Rice, including a parboiled variety called Carolina Gold, these share no connection to the variety of the name.[5]
The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation was created in 2004 to help popularize, restore and preserve the heirloom rice.[6][7] It has since expanded to other heirlooms such as French Huguenot black landrace buckwheat, Sea Island red peas, and others.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "America's oldest rice emanates from the time of our revolution in the rice fields around Charleston, South Carolina". Carolina Gold Rice Foundation. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Martin Taylor, John (28 December 1988). "Carolina Gold: A Rare Harvest". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b Smith, Hayden R. (2019). Carolina's Golden Fields: Inland Rice Cultivation in the South Carolina Lowcountry, 1670–1860. Cambridge Studies on the American South. Cambridge UP. pp. 12–14. ISBN 9781108423403.
- ^ a b Martin Taylor, John (December 28, 1988). "Carolina Gold: A Rare Harvest". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b "The Story of Carolina Gold, the Best Rice You've Never Tasted". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "America's oldest rice emanates from the time of our revolution in the rice fields around Charleston, South Carolina". Carolina Gold Rice Foundation. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Shields, David S. (2015). Southern Provisions: The Creation and Revival of a Cuisine. U of Chicago P. pp. x–xi. ISBN 9780226141114.
- ^ Ardis, Susan (2016-08-17). "In Lower Richland fields, Carolina Gold Rice Foundation resurrects crops lost to time". The Herald. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
This page was last edited on 11 December 2023, at 23:35