The Daily Iberian
Rice is believed to have been first cultivated in China for some 4,000 years. In several Asian languages, the words for rice and food are identical. The planting and harvesting of rice has led to many ceremonies and traditions in Asia and across the globe as the crop quickly made its way around the world.
  
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It is believed that after the lands were flooded, hunting animals became difficult. One day, the myth relays, a dog came across a field and the Chinese people noticed it was covered in yellow seeds. The people planted the seeds and , as a result, the rice grew.
Even in today’s times, the Chinese people have a strong belief that the precious things of life are not the pearls or jade, but the five grains with rice being No. 1.
Louisiana also has a long history with rice. Although it does not go back 4,000 years, rice has been grown in an area that is known as the “Cajun Prairie.”
The industry began when Acadian settlers from the Carolinas made their way to South Louisiana. The flat areas of the “Cajun Prairie” and the sub-tropical conditions made the crop ideal for the region.
In 1909, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center opened the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Acadia Parish. The AgCenter’s Web site, lsuagcenter.com, states nearly all of the rice grown in Louisiana was developed at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station in Crowley. Varieties developed at the Rice Research Station dominate the acreage planted in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Louisiana. During the past decade, Louisiana varieties were planted on more than 60 percent of the rice acres in those states.
Rice production contributed $550 million to the state’s economy in 2008.
In New Iberia, the connection with rice continues in the oldest operating rice mill in the United States, the Conrad Rice Co. rice mill located in the heart of the city. The company Web site, conradricemill.com, reports P.A. Conrad founded the Conrad Rice Mill and Planting Co. Conrad would cut the rice he grew by hand and let it sun-dry on the levees before putting the rice in the threshers. Back then, the mill only operated three to four months out of the year.
In the 1950s, Conrad had reached the point where he no longer could grow enough rice to meet the demands, so he began to buy grain from other growers. He also began to sell rice in smaller bags for the home shopper under the trademark brand, KONRIKO, which was an acronym for Conrad Rice Company.
In 1975, Mike Davis purchased the company from the Conrad descendants, sons of the original owner. Within 10 days of the purchase, the mill was up and running after laying dormant for two years. The original part of the mill, built in 1914, is a rare surviving example of a factory using a belt-drive power transmission.
This long-time association with rice has led to many recipes including the grain, such as gumbos and jambalaya.
One of those recipes, Tugboat Jambalaya, that was given to Gloria Segura by a neighbor.
The former New Iberia resident now living in Texas wanted to say hello to fellow cooks from the annual The Daily Iberian / Cajun Sugar Co-op Cajun/Creole Cookbook dinner by opening her recipe box and sharing some rice recipes. Segura said she made many friends during the dinners.
“My husband and I lived on campus at USL in the 1950s. A neighbor from Abbeville gave this recipe to us. His father was in charge of the locks located south of Abbeville. Tugboats would often travel this route and always had Tugboat jambalaya on hand to serve. It is very easy to prepare,” Segura writes in her e-mail.
“I have never written the instructions and always cooked without measuring ingredients...until this day.”
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