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Nathalie Dupree’s Shrimp & Grits Cookbook
Nathalie Dupree’s Comfortable Entertaining: At Home with Ease & Grace
Nathalie Dupree’s Southern Memories
Nathalie Dupree Cooks Quick Meals for Busy Days
Nathalie Dupree Cooks Great Meals for Busy Days
Nathalie Dupree Cooks Everyday Meals from a Well-Stocked Pantry
Nathalie Dupree Cooks for Family and Friends
Nathalie Dupree’s Matters of Taste
September 18, 2009
This morning I saw Carolina Gold harvested, the dew still on the ground. Some people want gold metal, I wanted to see the Gold of novels and books, the heart of the culture of the state of South Carolina for centuries. One look at the field of rice makes clear the reason for the name,Carolina Gold. The most coveted and sought after rice of those centuries is golden, riding on a sea of tall green stalks. The rice’s gold signifies it is the right time to start to dry the rice. The stalks are removed with a hook (a scythe) leaving a foot or so of stubble that will be turned back into the ground later. The sheaths of rice are then spread on top of the stubble to dry before being collected. At one time it would have been harvested starting at four in the morning, to beat the heat of the day, after a cold breakfast. 
August was the usual time in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, according to the meticulous records the planters kept – detailing dialing weather and rainfall, among other things. Thomas Jefferson loved this rice, his favorite among 98 varieties he collected. (Stories abound about people coming up to him and slipping rice into his pockets. Finally the planters had to tell him to stop sending new varieties – they liked what they had.) The fields have been flooded with fresh water and drained three times. Now it is up to the sun. At Middleton, historically dressed workers scythe the tall grasses that were formerly worked by slaves. 
Charleston, once the richest city in America, had a population that was more slaves than whites. When South Carolina was at its richest, the rice most plentiful, the economy collapsed with the aftermath of the civil war. Makes me think about the adage about riding high before a fall. Feels similar to the economy’s collapse last year.
Demonstrations will be held the next two Saturdays at Middleton. Contact them for more information.
