The Manufacturing Of The Best Rice Balls

By Steven Carter


Onigiri is a very popular Japanese food. This kind of food is made from rice which is often formed in a cylinder or triangular form and wrapped with sea weeds or nori. Typically, onigiris are filled with some pickled ume, katsuobushi, tarako, salted salmon, kombu, and some other salty or sour ingredients that will serve as its natural preservatives.

And because of the reason that this food became more and more popular not only in one country but in many countries already, there are many stores who have provided stock in different variations of fillings and flavors. Due to the popularity, best rice balls in Long Island became known as well. Small stores and even stalls also sell some onigiris only for take out.

There are already a lot of misconceptions in which many people have said that onigiri is a type of sushi, but actually it is not. Onigiri is made from a plain rice which is lightly salted while the sushi is made from rice with vinegar, salt, and sugar. And also, onigiri will make the rice easy and portable to eat while the sushi, originally, is made as one way of preserving fishes.

Since in history, a lot of people also have said that it may be difficult for onigiris to be produced in mass production since the most common technique used is hand rolling, in which is considered as one difficult for a machine to do. But in the later years, there are many manufacturers already who have successfully invented such machines that could shape a rice ball into a triangular form. And in this manufacturing process, fillings are done by placing a hole hidden by the nori instead of rolling it inside.

But the disadvantage of making use of machines is that the nori easily becomes sticky and it moist easily as well since it is attached to the onigiri already when forming it. But improvements now have been implemented where in the nori is separated from rice. Before the diner eats it, he or she must open first the nori packet and wrap it around onigiri.

One of the important advantages of limitations of machines is that it helps in producing new flavors easier because of using holes when filling instead of filling it when rolling. And also, it makes the production a lot easier because the process of cooking does not require any changes of ingredients from time to time. The modern onigiris now are wrapped with a special plastic wrapping that would act as a barrier of moisture.

Typically, rice balls are made from boiled white rice, but other variations of cooked rice may include okowa or kowameshi. It is a glutinous rice which is either steamed or cooked with some vegetables such as red beans. And another variety is mazegohan or mixed rice which may be cooked and mixed with the preferred ingredients.

In history, onigiris are said to originate from the samurai rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves. And also, most Japanese foods also originate from the samurai innovations. But today, these have already been moved from those battlefields into the current convenience stores.

Onigiris are now available from many convenience stores in many different countries or cities such as in Long Island. There are also people who often make these at home. Some of the popular variations include tsuna mayo, mentaiko, ikura, salmon and mayonnaise, nikumaki, etc.




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