The Results

I made my first batches of whole rice and rice flour mochi semi-concurrently, since both processes involved downtime, so I got to sample the results side by side when they were both fresh.  I wasn't sure what to expect from the whole rice mochi, since I've only ever had commercially produced mochi, which I guessed was probably more like the Mochiko version.  I didn't get all the lumps out of my whole rice mochi, either, and although I'd read that small bits of rice wouldn't be noticeable, I wondered whether I would agree when I tasted it.  

my hand-pounded mochi

To my great pleasure, I found the whole rice mochi to be superior in the ways that mattered most to me.  Its texture was chewy without being sticky, while the rice flour mochi's was gluey; its color was a brighter and more opaque white than the rice flour mochi's; and its flavor was deep and subtly sweet, while the rice flour mochi's was only vaguely reminiscent of rice and tasted clearly of refined sugar.  The only category in which the "box" mochi came out on top was appearance, since my whole rice mochi's surface was pebbled with little rice bits.  

Unfortunately, I was so excited to share my work with my husband that I brought him my smoothest, most beautiful whole rice mochi and let him eat the whole thing before it occurred to me that I should have taken a picture of it, so the photo above doesn't represent my best work.  I likewise failed to take a picture of my disappointing Mochiko mochi before it was devoured, but I decided to try making mochi ice cream with Mochiko, and I did manage to remember to take a picture of that.

my strawberry mochi ice cream

Happily, I thought the Mochiko mochi performed much better in this role.  Frozen, its texture was less sticky, and its taste was much improved by the addition of flavoring and the ratio of ice cream to mochi.  Basically, the mochi was just there to provide a gummy contrast to the ice cream, and it served that purpose just fine.