[3][5] Hawaii "tends to catch on to Japanese food trends before the rest of the [United States], thanks to its larger population of Japanese-Americans and closer proximity to Japan".

[...] Some folks suggest the name has less to do with the glutinous rice flour that we often associate with foods called mochi and more to do with the phrase mochi-mochi, which describes a uniquely soft but elastic or even bouncy texture".

[3][8][9][10] Mochi donuts made from glutinous rice flour "typically contain half the amount of calories as the standard cake or yeast doughnut".

[12] Although mochi donuts can be made by hand, most bakeries use machines that mold the dough into the traditional ring shapes and drop them directly into the oil for more efficiency.

Mochi donuts’ bright colors and playful shape, which is reminiscent of a flower or a bracelet, make them particularly photogenic.