Editing Mochi (section)

== Modern preparation ==
[[File:Mochi Machine in Action.webm|thumb|Cooked rice being automatically tumbled in a modern household machine]]
[[File:Mochimachine3387.JPG|thumb|Making mochi with modern equipment]]
The modern preparation of mochi uses a sweet flour of sweet rice ({{transliteration|ja|[[mochiko]]}}). The flour is mixed with water and cooked on a stovetop or in the microwave until it forms a sticky, opaque, white mass.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://recipestoayoungpoet.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-so-stressful-microwave-mochi.html | title= Not-So-Stressful Microwave Mochi | publisher= The Fatty Reader | access-date= July 14, 2010 | archive-date= January 20, 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130120192325/http://recipestoayoungpoet.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-so-stressful-microwave-mochi.html | url-status= dead }}</ref> This process is performed twice, stirring the mass in between<ref name=":4" /> until it becomes malleable and slightly transparent.<ref>Itoh, Makiko, "[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fg20111230f1.html Rice takes prized, symbolic yearend form] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117185738/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fg20111230f1.html |date=2013-01-17 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', December 30, 2011, p. 14.</ref>

With modern equipment, mochi can be made at home, with the technology automating the laborious dough pounding.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2010/1/1/mochi-making-recalled/|title=Mochi Making Then and Now|website=www.discovernikkei.org|date=January 2010 |access-date=March 18, 2016}}</ref> Household mochi appliances provide a suitable space where the environment of the dough can be controlled.

The assembly-line sections in mochi production control these aspects:
# [[Viscoelasticity]] or the products' chewiness by selecting specific species of rice
# Consistency of the dough during automated pounding process
# Size
# Flavourings and fillings

Varieties of glutinous and waxy rice are produced as major raw materials for mochi. The rice is chosen for its tensile strength and compressibility. One study found that in {{transliteration|ja|kantomochi}} rice 172 and BC3, amylopectin distribution varied and affected the hardness of mochi. {{transliteration|ja|Kantomochi}} rice produced harder, brittle, grainy textures, all undesirable qualities except for ease of cutting.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sasaki|first1=Tomoko|last2=Hayakawa|first2=Fumiyo|last3=Suzuki|first3=Yasuhiro|last4=Suzuki|first4=Keitaro|last5=Kazuyuki|first5=Okamoto|last6=Kaoru|first6=Kohyama|date=2013|title=Characterization of Waxy Rice Cakes (Mochi) with Rapid Hardening Quality by Instrumental and Sensory Methods|journal=Cereal Chemistry|volume=90|issue=2|pages=101|doi=10.1094/CCHEM-05-12-0058-R}}</ref> For mass production, the rice variety should be chewy, but easy to separate.

Generally, two types of machines are used for mochi production in an assembly line. One machine prepares the dough, while the other forms the dough into consistent shapes, unfilled or with filling. The first type of machine controls the temperature at which the rice gelatinizes. One study found that a temperature of {{cvt|62|C}} corresponds to the gelatinization of mochi. When the temperature fell below this point, the hardening was too slow. It was concluded that a processing temperature below {{cvt|62|C}} was unsuitable for dough preparation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Matsue|first1=Yuji|last2=Uchimura|first2=Yosuke|last3=Sato|first3=Hirokazu|date=2008|title=Estimation of Hardening Speed of "Mochi" of Glutinous Rice from the Gelatinization Temperature, an Amylographic Characteristic, and the Correlation of the Hardening Speed with Gelatinization Temperature and Air Temperature During the Ripening Period(Quality and Processing)|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jcs1927/71/1/71_1_57/_article|journal=Japanese Journal of Crop Science|volume=71|pages=57–61|doi=10.1626/jcs.71.57|doi-access=free}}</ref>