Good morning, how are you? Today I would like to share this mornings Food Holiday: April 19th with you. It’s National Rice Ball Day which I hadn’t ever heard of. Have you?
Five things to know about Rice Balls
- Rice balls preserve very well, and can even be used to preserve meats or other foods within its airtight seal.
- Rice ball is traditionally Japanese.
- Typically the Rice is soaked in Vinegar and made to stick together. Dipping a Rice Ball in Soy Sauce will cause a Rice Ball to fall apart again.
- Rice Balls date back at least as far as the 11th century.
- Another word for Rice Ball is “Onigiri”, a word commonly misused to refer to Sushi.
Fun Fact:
Popular Onigiri fillings include Tuna Salad, Salmon Flakes, Seafood Salad, Konbu (a type of Sea Vegetable), Umeboshi (a sour bright-red pickled Japanese Plum), Tempura, and even Natto.
“Onigri” literally means “to hold on to”.
It was believed that Onigiri could not be mass-produced as the hand-rolling technique was considered too difficult for a machine to replicate. In the 1980s, however, a machine that made triangular Onigiri was devised.
Which would you prefer Hand-Made Onigiri or by machine and why? As for me personally I don’t think I would care for either. Then I asked David and Charlie and they also said they would pass.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
