Food of the Gods A Favorite Local Food Mochi Today

Mochi Today

Not only is mochi a food for special occasions, it also happens to be very nutritious. Mochi rice has a higher content of carbohydrates and protein than regular Japonica rice. Just a small amount of mochi can be a great energy source, especially since it takes time to digest the glutinous substance. Furthermore, mochi will keep for several months. Its flavor and nutrients can be revived with just a little heating. In the past, mochi was a favorite portable food for hunters and swift-footed couriers. It still remains a popular source of stamina for all kinds of athletes from the marathon runner to the soccer player. Explains Noriko Saito of the South Iwate Agricultural Cooperative’s Farming Division, “Before mochi ever became a food for festive occasions, it was a valuable source of nutrition that helped keep people alive in bad weather and poverty. Mochi has only really become a common everyday food over the past 30-40 years. Before that it was a very special and precious food. People of old placed a high value on mochi and the pounding of mochi was always a major event.” The people of Ichinoseki are eager to keep the tradition of mochi alive for future generations, and for the past few years they have been holding a variety of mochi-related events, including a mochi cooking contest. Mochi packed in sterilized pouches was sold for the first time in 1964. Today packaged mochi can be bought just about anywhere at any time. No longer is mochi a food requiring long and tedious preparation. Mochi pounding and its festive atmosphere is a rare sight these days, but the popularity of mochi as a food staple with the possibility of infinite variations has increased in direct proportion to its ready availability—particularly among the younger generations. The Japanese people’s love for mochi’s gooey consistency has expanded to other foods, and today you’ll find all kinds of rice-based foods, breads and even sweets with the same kind of chewy, glutinous texture. Mochi is a traditional food with great versatility and it is certain to remain popular as it continually evolves and adapts to people’s changing tastes.

Pounding mochi with a mortar and mallet is rarely seen in these days of packaged mochi and mochi-pounding machines. Ichinoseki provides a catering-style mochi-pounding service that is often called upon for special events and festivities far and wide, sometimes even overseas. Mochi pounding is a craft requiring special expertise and can be a joy to watch.

A variety of packaged mochi. Plain mochi cakes are primarily used in cooking while those containing such ingredients as sesame seeds, green nori seaweed, and beans, can be grilled and eaten as a snack just as they are.

References Yasumuro, Satoru. Mochi to Nihonjin (Mochi and the Japanese). Yuzankaku, 1999. Watabe, Tadayo and Fukuzawa, Sayuri. Mochi. Hosei University Press, 1998. National Mochi Festival Steering Committee, Zenkoku Mochi Bunka Festibaru Hokokusho (Report on the festivals of the mochi-culture across Japan), 1997. Special Thanks Hiroaki Onodera, Itsukushi-no-sato representative director; Yanagibashi, seasonal cooking restaurant; Noriko Saito, South Iwate Agricultural Cooperative’s Farming Division; Sansaikan Fujisei restaurant

(Data collected April 2005)