Received by Fax: May 15, 2003

Hi Rhio.. sorry to bother you but I didn't know who to ask. I'm new to raw and I bought your book. . . Hooked on Raw and tried to make the Caribbean wild rice. I soaked the rice for 2 days changing the water and then let it "sprout" for 2 days.. I rinsed each day and today when I smelled it, it was sour. What did I do wrong? Should I have put it in the fridge? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Victoria Borte


Hi Victoria,

Thanks for purchasing my book.

Welcome to the wonderful world of raw. Sorry you had a small setback.

Some things to check when "sprouting"* wild rice are:

1) Wash the wild rice before soaking it.

2) Make sure that you have good air circulation in the room where the rice will soak and sprout.

3) When soaking wild rice, change the water frequently enough to keep it fresh. Keeping the water fresh prevents the rice from fermenting. In New York, I only change the water twice in two days, but in other parts of the country or world, it may need to be changed more often, depending on ambient air factors.

4) Make sure that when "sprouting" the rice, you rinse it at least twice each day.

5) After rinsing the rice, drain it well. Do not leave any part of the rice sitting in water. This would allow it to ferment and spoil the whole batch.

The only other thing I can think of is that the wild rice was old to begin with. Try to buy the freshest wild rice you can find.

You would not refrigerate the wild rice until after it had softened up and became "chewable." At that time, if I'm not using it right away, I usually store it in a glass, wide-mouth jar, and cover the rice with filtered water. It will last a few days in the refrigerator this way. Even in the refrigerator though, change the water every other day to keep it fresh.

*Wild rice has been parched before you purchase it. In the raw community it is generally known that wild rice is not raw but some do use it occasionally. We use the word sprout in relation to wild rice because we're using the sprouting procedure to soften the wild rice AS IF we were sprouting it, but it does not sprout.

Hoping this information helps you achieve success in your next try. Good luck!!

With Blessings and Peace,

Rhio

May 16, 2003

Thank you so much for your help. I'm trying again,,,I'll let you know if it turns out.

Victoria

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