Mochi ice cream is a confection made from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

(pounded

sticky rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

) with an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

filling. It was invented by Japanese-American businesswoman and community activist

Frances Hashimoto Frances Kazuko Hashimoto (August 26, 1943 – November 4, 2012) was a Japanese- American businesswoman and community activist. Hashimoto was a key figure and proponent of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood. The head of Mikawaya since 1970, ...

Description

Mochi ice cream is a small, round confection consisting of a soft, pounded sticky rice dumpling (

) formed around an ice cream filling. The ice cream adds flavor and creaminess to the confection while the mochi adds sweetness and texture. The traditional ice cream flavors used are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Other flavors, such as

Kona coffee Kona coffee is the market name for coffee ('' Coffea arabica'') cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Only coff ...

plum wine Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcohol ...

green tea Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...

, and red bean, are also widely used. Mochi can also be flavored as a complement to the ice cream filling. When making mochi, it is dusted with either potato or cornstarch to keep it from caking while being formed and handled.

History

Japanese

daifuku , or (literally "great luck"), is a wagashi, (a type of Japanese confection) consisting of a small round mochi (a glutinous rice cake) stuffed with a sweet filling, most commonly '' anko'', (a sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans). D ...

and

manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of ''anko'' ( red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. ''M ...

are the predecessors to mochi ice cream, commonly featuring

adzuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an Annual plant, annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar ...

filling. Due to the temperature and consistency of mochi and ice cream, both components must be modified. This is to achieve the right viscosity that will remain constant regardless of changes in temperature.Eto, Masa
Pursuit of Innovative Food
''Masa's Message'', A&D Company Ltd., March 2004. Technical information on Yukimi Daifuku. URL accessed August 10, 2006. An early predecessor form of the dessert was originally produced by Lotte, as

Yukimi Daifuku Yukimi Daifuku (Japanese: "snow-viewing daifuku") is a brand of mochi ice cream manufactured by Lotte. It was also released in Japan in October 1981. It consists of a ball of vanilla ice milk wrapped in a thin layer of mochi, or rice cake, bat ...

in 1981. The company first made the product by using a rice starch instead of

and a rice milk instead of real ice cream.

, the former president and CEO of Mikawaya, is credited as the inventor of mochi ice cream. Hashimoto's husband, Joel Friedman, conceived the idea of taking small orbs of ice cream and wrapping them in a Japanese traditional

rice cake. Frances Hashimoto expanded on her husband's idea, inventing the fusion dessert now popular in the United States and elsewhere. Hashimoto introduced seven flavors in the mochi product line. Mikawaya began production of mochi ice cream in the United States in 1993.Mainstream America Embraces Mochi Ice Cream
''sushiandtofu.com'', All Japan News, December, 2001. History of Mochi Ice Cream and Mikawaya Bakery-Confectionery. URL accessed August 10, 2006

/ref>About Us
''Mikawaya'', 2005. URL accessed January 18, 2007. Research and development took over a decade to evolve into the mass production form used today, due to the complex interactions of the ingredients. Trial and error was used in order to successfully pull the delicate mochi dough over the ice cream without leaving a sodden mess. Friedman explained that in order to conduct production of the ice cream, experts ranging from construction to microbiology were brought in to perfect the state-of-the-art production building. Mikawaya debuted their Mochi Ice Cream in Hawaii in 1994. The frozen treat was so popular, it captured 15% of the novelty frozen treat market during its first four months. Mochi ice cream gained huge popularity in the UK following a viral Tik Tok trend, which began in January 2021. The trend of ‘Looking for Little Moons in Big Tesco’ became a sensation, receiving 341.8M views and a surge in sales of 1400% in Tesco alone.

References

External links

Mikawaya's official site

Lotte's official site (Japanese)

The joy of mochi
— June 14, 2006

Honolulu Weekly ''Honolulu Weekly'' was an alternative weekly newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded by Laurie V. Carlson, it began publishing in the summer of 1991, ostensibly to fill gaps in investigative reporting left by the two main dailies, ''Hono ...

article, featuring ''Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream'' of Honolulu
Maeda-en Mochi Ice Cream site
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Little Moons official website
{{Ice cream Food and drink in California Ice cream Japanese desserts and sweets Rice dishes

Description

History

See also

References

External links