page_title: Mochi
section_title: New Year
hierarchical_section_title: Mochi / Seasonal specialities / New Year
caption_attribution_description: English: Sakura mochi
context_page_description: Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time.
  Mochi is a multicomponent food consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, protein and water. Mochi has a heterogeneous structure of amylopectin gel, starch grains, and air bubbles. This rice is characterized by its low level of amylose starch, and is derived from short- or medium-grain japonica rices. The protein concentration of the rice is higher than that of normal short-grain rice, and the two also differ in amylose content. In mochi rice, the amylose content is negligible, and the amylopectin level is high, which results in its gel-like consistency.
  Mochi is similar to dango, but is made using pounded intact grains of rice, while dango is made of rice flour.
context_section_description: Kagami mochi is a New Year decoration, which is traditionally broken and eaten in a ritual called kagami biraki (mirror opening).
  Zōni is a soup containing rice cakes. It is also eaten on New Year's Day. In addition to mochi, zōni contains vegetables such as taro, carrot, honeywort, and red and white colored kamaboko.
  Kinako mochi is traditionally made on New Year's Day as an emblem of luck. This style of mochi preparation involves roasting the mochi over a fire or stove, then dipping it into water, finally coating it with sugar and kinako (soy flour).
caption: Sakuramochi
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