🍡 Bekomochi
"Bekomochi" has been passed down from generation to generation as a special sweet eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, and is now eaten as a snack. "Bekomochi" originates from a sweet called "kujiramochi", which is made by steaming non-glutinous rice flour and glutinous rice flour with water and sugar, and was originally introduced by "kitamaebune ships" during the Edo period. In Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture, people ate "kujiramochi" instead of "kashiwamochi" during the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Shimokita region, where rice cultivation was not developed, rice was a precious commodity, and rice cakes were only eaten on special occasions. During the 1960s, "kujiramochi" with flower patterns was created mainly in Ohmamachi, and were eventually reborn in the form of "bekomochi" with beautiful colors and patterns. There are various theories as to the origin of the name, such as "the process of making it brings it together like the back of a cow" or "the combination of brown sugar and white sugar resembles the speckled pattern of a cow". Recently, the number of colors has increased, and the patterns have evolved into more complex ones, such as those of animals and cartoon characters.