[PHOTO_389606]
Rice is a product often associated with Asia, where carefully formed paddies grow the grain used in countless world cuisines. But it’s also grown closer to home, in the nutrient-rich Mississippi Delta, the name given to the region that surrounds the namesake river south of Memphis.
Into the Delta
Two Brooks Farm is a family-run single estate rice operation in Sumner, Mississippi that has become the gold standard for restaurants across the country, especially in the South. Started by Mike Wagner in the 1990s, his children, Lawrence and Abbey, now manage the business.
“I remember being a little kid in eighth grade, riding down the road,” Lawrence Wagner says as we drive down a country road to the farm. It looks flat as far as the eye can see, but below the surface of the water, magic is happening.
“For years, dad spent a lot of time and money land forming the whole plantation, basically making it fall from the top side of the farm, which is situated underneath the river, to the bottom, graded all the way down. It’s very water efficient.”
For Two Brooks, it’s all about working with nature, not against it. Very little machinery is required as compared to other agricultural products, and water is recycled as much as possible, mostly from rainfall.
“We’re sort of situated in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway. Thousands of ducks and geese pass through here in the winter. They see our fields out there flooded, they’re very large fields, rice straw, so it just looks like a natural habitat. They come in, they stomp down all the stuff, eat a bunch of wheat seeds and rice seeds left over from harvest, and kind of smooth out the field.”
The flyway is a stopover for over 300 species taking their annual journey from the breeding grounds in Canada and the Northern United States to their winter home in Central and South America.
The birds, including wood ducks and mallards, also fertilize the growing rice plants along the way, eliminating the need for insecticides and fungicides. It adds to the rich soil that flows from the rivers and tributaries from all over the country that connect to the Mississippi River.
“You’ve got soil from all over the country right here,” says Wagner. It’s this combination of elements that gives Two Brooks rice a unique terroir, a term usually applied to wine.
The South’s favorite rice
[PHOTO_389669]
Spread across 3,000 acres, the company has jasmine, basmati, black and even sushi varieties. Wagner knows the rice well, eating it at least once a week, and can tell the difference between Two Brooks and the other brands.
In the early days, he worked in the marketing and sales for the business, cold calling people to introduce them to the company.
“I literally would ride around to restaurants [in Jackson, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee] and hand out bags of rice.”
The hard work paid off. Countless restaurants around the country feature Two Brooks products, including the James Beard Award-winning Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi. The farm also supports programs that address food shortages in the state and beyond.
From rice to flour and gin
[PHOTO_389607]
The family has been farming in some form or another since the 1700s, but the kosher-certified rice milling operation kicked off in 2015. A large warehouse holds the entire operation, starting with the bins filled with rice grains separated by style. They’re sorted into the machinery to remove any excess pieces and husks. The bran is ground off to create white rice.
In the milling process, some of the rice grains break apart, no longer suitable to be sold as rice. But they’re not thrown away. Two Brooks uses the small pieces in “middlins” or “rice grits,” a take on the regional staple served in dishes like shrimp and grits. Other pieces are milled down even further to create rice flour, a gluten-free alternative used in dishes like mochi and roti. Any excess is sold to cattle farmers.
An Oxford-based business has also become creative with Two Brooks’ rice pieces. Wonderbird Spirits incorporates hundreds of pounds of the broken-down jasmine rice to craft their flagship gin in the Japanese tradition.
“It’s a sticky rice, it’s fragrant rice…it breaks down easier than the other varieties would with the koji in their mash,” says Wagner, speaking about the type of mold used in sake production, as well as Wonderbird’s No. 61 gin.
This type of rice creates a smooth texture on the tongue unlike other brands. The incredible flavor earned the company two gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits competition in 2020.
If you’re looking to change up the way you enjoy rice, the folks at Two Brooks can make recommendations.
10Best is a part of the USA TODAY Network, providing an authentically local point of view on destinations around the world, in addition to travel and lifestyle advice.