The Complete History of Mochi Ice Cream | Moishi UAE

Mochi has been around for so many years now. It’s made from glutinous rice which gets pounded into a paste and gets moulded into several shapes. However, combining mochi with ice cream has been relatively a new concept which has won the hearts of many people in no time. 

Mochi ice cream was invented by a Japanese-American businesswoman named Frances Hashimoto. In the early 1990s, Frances and her husband had a good confectionery business in Los Angeles. Their business specialised in Japanese sweets like mochi. 

In the 1980s, the concept of mochi ice cream was invented by the Lotte company which is a South Korean and Japanese conglomerate that produces sweets and snacks. The Lotte company was thinking of a way to make ice cream more tempting to the Japanese people as they prefer light and less sugary desserts. That’s when they came up with the idea to wrap up the ice cream in a layer of mochi, creating a heavenly delight that will conquer the creamy cravings.

The mochi ice cream concept gained popularity in no time and it soon got introduced to the United States in 1990. Mikawaya, an LA-based Japanese confectionery was the first company to produce mochi ice cream. At first, Mikawaya used to sell the mochi ice cream in their retail stores but soon they started supplying the mochi ice cream to restaurants and cafes. 

The first ever flavour of mochi ice cream that Mikawaya created was strawberry. The customers were amazed by the ice cream and it quickly became popular. Many more flavours like mango, green tea and chocolate were introduced later. 

How mochi has evolved over the years?

Mochi has undergone numerous changes since its invention in the 1980s. Here are some of the ways in which it has evolved over the years:

      1. Availability

Mochi has been a huge hit among customers and now it’s available in many places other than Japan and America. Now, it’s available in grocery stores, mainstream supermarkets and speciality food stores. 

     2. Expansion of Flavors

Previously, mochi was only available in basic and Japanese traditional flavours like vanilla and strawberry. However, as it gained more popularity in new countries, many more flavours were introduced like mochi green tea, mochi mango and chocolate. 

      3. Shapes and sizes

Previously, mochi was available only in round-shaped balls. Nowadays, it’s available in many shapes like triangles, squares, cones, popsicles and bars.

      4. Gluten-free Vegan option

Recently, there has been significant growth in demand for vegan ice cream options. Some companies have started producing vegan mochi ice cream to make it accessible to a wider range of people with a vegan diet. 

Conclusion

Wrapping it up, mochi has become a very popular dessert globally. It’s widely available in speciality stores and supermarkets around the world. It comes in a variety of flavours from red bean and classic green tea to contemporary flavors like strawberry and chocolate.