Mochi is made with glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa); also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, mochi rice, and pearl rice, type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. The rice is cooked and then pounded it in a stone or wooden mortar, called an usu, until it becomes a soft, chewy paste. Modern mochi is also made by machine, but it is claimed that mochi pounded in an usu tastes better than mochi that has been processed by an electric machine. The pounding method is still frequently used in traditional Japanese restaurants and confectionaries, and sometimes in festivals and private homes