MOTTA-RI もったり
Meanings
Describes something as thick, dense, viscous, and noticeably heavy in consistency.
Examples
A trick to making sweets is to whisk the cream until it becomes thick and heavy.
生クリームをもったりするまで泡立て器で混ぜるのがお菓子作りのコツ。
Dogmatic Opinion
I hear MOTTA-RI most naturally in baking, when cream or egg whites are beaten until they acquire substantial body.
Lift the whisk, and much of the whipped cream or meringue seems to rise with it.
The sound places considerable weight—literally, in my mind—on heaviness.
MATTA-RI can also involve a kind of weight, but it is the pleasant richness you feel on the tongue. MOTTA-RI is more directly about the physical body and resistance of the mixture.
Proximate Expression
chunky
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Thick, dense, heavy, full-bodied, and thickened may fit. For whipped cream or meringue, “thick and heavy” or “whisk until thickened and full-bodied” is natural. The Japanese source here does not extend MOTTA-RI to sluggish movement or clumsy design.
