What is mochi ice cream?

Mochi ice cream is a bite-sized Japanese dessert consisting of an ice cream core wrapped in a soft rice dough called mochi. Mochi itself is a rice cake made from sticky, powdery rice that is molded into a specific shape. Each mochi ice cream ball looks like a small golf ball and combines contrasting textures and flavors. As a dessert or finger treat, mochi ice cream is loaded with carbs, fat, and sugar. Both dough and ice cream come in many different flavors, leading to some fascinating palates.

The dessert is very popular in Japan, parts of Asia and parts of the United States. The crust has a chewy, sticky texture that prevents the ice cream inside from melting. It can be dusted with powdered sugar. Compared to the traditional ice cream cone, the whole dessert is very small, making it an excellent snack. This allows dieters to indulge in ice cream without exceeding calorie limits; Typically, a ball of mochi ice cream contains about 100 calories.

However, they have little nutrition as they are just a combination of ice cream and milk in the form of glutinous rice. There's a range of tempting mochi ice cream with truly exotic flavors in different colors. Find flavors like chocolate, green tea powder or matcha and strawberry. Red bean paste or baby red bean, coconut and vanilla are some other common flavors. Although mochi has a very ancient history, mochi ice cream is believed to be the creation of the Lotte Company based in Japan and South Korea.

Ice cream was first heard of in 1981 thanks to The Lotte Company and has become wildly popular. Years later, it came to the United States through a company called Mikawaya, which has been working on a mass-production version for more than a decade. In 1993, the company completed all the procedures and the rice cake ice cream went on sale. Today, ice cream can be found in major retail brand supermarkets as well as Asian stores.

Making mochi from scratch with sticky rice is a complex process, but the dough can be found in certain supermarkets or purchased in packaged mixtures. The main ingredients for making mochi ice cream include ice cream, mochi rice flour, corn starch and sugar. First, let the ice cream melt slightly at room temperature, then scoop out the balls. The balls are then returned to the fridge to harden. Mix flour with sugar and water until it becomes a paste.

The batter can be heated in the microwave for a few minutes, then spread on plastic wrap to cool. Sprinkle cornstarch on the plastic to keep the batter from sticking together. The dough cools and divides into small balls. Flatten it into a circle with an ice cream cone in the middle.

Then wrap the dough around the ice cream core and repeat the process until all the ice cream is covered with a soft layer of dough. If the dough does not completely cover the ice cream, more dough will need to be added. The ice cream balls are returned to the refrigerator to harden again and refrigerate.