Food Find: Mochi by the Piece!

When I was in elementary school, one of the books they had us read took place in Japan.  And a character was longing for ice cream.  But what was presented looked nothing whatsoever like ice cream.  Yet ice cream it was!  This was my first introduction to mochi.

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.

Self-Serve Mochi at Whole Foods

Pricing: 1 for $1.99, 6 for $9.99, or 13 for $20.

Flavors of the day were: Black Sesame, Vanilla Bean, Sweet Mango, Red Bean, Strawberry, Green Tea, Matcha Green Tea, Double Chocolate, and Kona Coffee.