Food Holidays: April 19th

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?

National Rice Ball Day

Five things to know about Rice Balls

1. Rice balls preserve very well, and can even be used to preserve meats or other foods within its airtight seal.
2. Rice ball is traditionally Japanese.
3. 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.
4. Rice Balls date back at least as far as the 11th century.
5. 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