Mochi is generally a Japanese rice cake made out of pounded glutinous rice, sugar, and water. It can be filled with sweet ingredients or be made savory. The kind of which I speak, however, are small and filled with balls of flavored ice cream.
The first mass produced brand I became familiar with as an adult is Mikawaya, in its familiar yellow and black box. Let it sit at room temperature for a bit so that the ice cream center softens up, and enjoy!
Imagine my surprise when I found out that there were actual Mikawaya stores out in California that sold a wide variety of flavors at ready to enjoy consistency!
Well, it turns out there are more brands out there! Among them: Bubbies of Hawaii, Maeda-en of California (though a transplant from Texas), and Mochidoki of New Jersey.
A new mochi source has just entered the fray, however, although I do not yet know the manufacturer of their frozen dessert balls - Whole Foods!
I had recently read an article that mentioned that Whole Foods was in the process of adding self-serve mochi bars to their stores, starting with California and Chicago. So I was excited when I happened upon one of these freezer cases already in the prepared foods section of a local Whole Foods in Boston, South End.
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| Self-Serve Mochi at Whole Foods |
Flavors of the day were: Black Sesame, Vanilla Bean, Sweet Mango, Red Bean, Strawberry, Green Tea, Matcha Green Tea, Double Chocolate, and Kona Coffee.
