> I think this is a good point, much as i hate grains.
>  Are you saying here
> that they were just nabbed and eaten raw, without
> processing of any kind?
> Could it be these wild seeds had a protein versus
> carbohydrate content than
> modern grains?

I have a friend who was raised in northern Minnesota
near the headwaters of the (Mississippi? Missouri?)
river. He and his father would go out regularly in a
skiff and harvest wild rice growing along banks in the
marshy areas. He said they often ate the wild rice raw
by popping a few grains in their mouths and letting
saliva soften the husks until they could
"crunch" the seeds with their teeth. I don't think
they could eat a lot of rice seeds this way, but they
could be munched on them this way all day long (maybe
an early form of "chewing gum"?). He did say he
remembered a kind of nutty flavor that disappeared
after they were cooked.

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