Mochi has been made for years in Hawaii and has become apart of Hawaii snack foods, especially when it comes to sweets and rice cakes. When it comes to gifts or desserts or even party favors mochi is a favorite next to chocolates, cookies, and prepacked crack seed. While mochi started in Japan, many families that further developed it were a mixed and appreciate the food that is mochi. With many people enjoying rice it wasn't too far of a stretch to enjoy mochi and with all sorts of sweet fillings involved they can be irresistible and even seen as a necessity during the new years season.
In Hawaii, the title of a mochi master started as a upgraded title of a mochi maker and had developed in the Big Island Hawaii that slowly made the art of mochi making into a very Hawaii thing instead of exclusively a Japanese one. The colors that were added would reflect the scenery of the plants and land as well as the foliage with bright colors that would be used in the mochi itself. The cuts would have a strong association to nature with mochi in design would resemble flowers, animals, and many other sorts of things that are simple in shape. They would all look uniform while having minimalistic indentations to tell the difference between types of mochi to make sure each design was to its own sort of mochi. The most popular colors are: Blue, Teal, Green, Orange, Pink, Yellow, and Brown. Making mochi would be a technique that was passed on for generations in Hawaii families and it would lead to a family connection to the mochi itself and give pride in the art of mochi making in a Hawaii-style of method. Those who would choose to have mochi be a part of their life would train: mochi assistant, mochi prep, mochi maker, and mochi master. The mochi artform began with a resurgence in Big Island Mochi around 2012 where there were people designing stamps and color to food association that was inspired from "Two Ladies Kitchen". The way of making mochi was to think of the warmth of the food and to have the taste stick to each person through the love of mochi itself, so many ideas were done through experimentation and community support. The founding family of the art of Hawaii mochi making is credited to the Mochi Master's of the Uchida Ohana. Mochi assistant, while it may seem a bit formal the mochi assistant is someone who packs up the mochi, communicates with what needs to be finished for batches, and keeps track of things as they go. It is a task that requires no previous experience and can be easily understood, since much of it is communication based. When there is down time the mochi assistant may help with mochi prep or wherever they are needed to better understand the process of making mochi. Mochi prep, needs a little bit of cooking and is very hands on with knowing the timing of the soaking rice before it is steamed and knowing how to steam it correctly. Steaming can be done in a number of ways, but at a mochi establishment it isn't uncommon to see the slower method of stacked wooden boxes steaming away and needing to be moved around from time to time that can be quite difficult. Those who prep the mochi also help with color mixtures of the mochi, refill the fillings area for fast assembly, and ensure consistency in the mochi itself. For mochi or mochi rice that is used for ti-leaves, bamboo leaves, or banana leaves they are cleaned and sorted for use for the mochi maker. Mochi maker, are those looking to make mochi as an artform and practice with their hands through feel, touch, and tools. The mochi maker will start with hand forming mochi with the classic round like shape and properly make sure the table has rice flour on it for no mochi sticking to it. When the mochi is formed they will quickly either stamp it with a design based on its filling or begin to indent mochi based on a design list that has a particular ingredient list that is distinct to that particular mochi. Skill with a knife or baking cutter, due to there being many types of mochi that is made from the oven and not exclusively from the mochi machine. Mochi master, is a master of making mochi and understands multiple methods of utilizing mochi rice that is not exclusive to basic Mochi. It requires multicultural cooking skills that deal with many different ingredients, making sauces, and baking methods. A mochi master overlooks the entire operation of the different types of mochi that is made or mochi rice dishes and makes sure there is quality control and proper consistency. The paperwork of orders and receiving is also handled by the mochi master as well as overall operations.
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