New, what is it?
My husband receives this every year as a Christmas gift
Hi all - I could use some help on this. I'll give you all the information that I have. My husband works a job where he receives tips, and at Christmas he is often given other gifts - gift cards, bottles of booze, chocolate, stuff like that. For the past few years, one of his customers has given him this jar of...yellow stuff? Geographically - we're in the Boston, USA area. His customer is an older asian woman. The jar has not been "canned" (processed with a canner). My husband thinks it's a glass of tea, but that really doesn't make sense to me. He says the woman acts as if we should know what it is. If anyone has any idea (short of me opening it and drinking it without knowing what it is), I'd love to hear it!
Edit: Wow - this got so much more traction than I expected. And so many of you are sure that it's urine.
It doesn't smell like alcohol, so pretty sure it's not moonshine. It's definitely not honey. I'm guessing the Ginseng Tincture is most likely, I'll be sending a thank you note and asking for the recipe. Not sure when he'll see this customer again, so it may be a while until I have an answer for you all.
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My guess is a Ginseng Tincture, very similar in color and has the slight medicinal taste you describe - send a thank you note and ask for the recipe maybe if you want to be sure.
The thank you note asking for the recipe is brilliant! I often receive rather dubious canned goods around holidays (my 68 yo father fancies himself a food scientist) and there have been a couple times I could have used this trick!
This is almost certainly the case. It is a significant cultural tradition, especially with South Korean and Chinese families as it is a gift wishing for health, longevity and prosperity.
Seconding this comment! The urine comments are… disappointingly bad jokes. But OP, this is a very kind and meaningful gift. It was likely made the way she was taught and I think it’s sweet to be receiving something with a history.
I’m adopted from Korea, so when my Korean friend taught me how ginseng is used and how it’s regarded in Eastern culture (specifically Korea), it meant a lot. Also the bitter medicinal taste is similar to some types of spirits (like aperitifs/digestifs) so a friend of mine uses it in cocktails! Stir it with some uncooked rice to mellow it out. Happy holidays!
This was my first thought. I made apple pie last year and gave jars like this to all my coworkers. Anything over 20% alc won't grow bacteria so it doesn't need to be canned. Shit is delicious. But you got to let it sit for a few months and the homemade stuff will usually have cloudy stuff in it from the cinnamon and nutmeg.
My brother got a bunch of these from his buddy that made em one year. When I was living in his house, kinda between jobs and being a dirtbag. I got absolutely shit faced on it, very quickly, during the day while he was at work. He was not pleased with me. Glad that part of my life is over, at least.
I mean, a simple sniff test, don't require the op to risk life as they know it. My wife said it's probably the key to a long life and you've thrown it out.
Make sure it's creamed and whipped first, add some stevia and then condense it, and then you can sell whipped creamed condensed sweetened sugar free gluten free lactose full piss product
This is my guess. My wife makes some every year and puts it in big jars with the plums and rock sugar. When it's done and ready to share she usually pours the golden liquid into smaller jars or containers. It's kinda sweet for my taste but her friends love it straight or mixed with lemon lime soda. Kampai!
They’re hoping for that magical response you sometimes find in this subreddit, a redditor who is so specific to the item in question, like:
“Boston-area Asian here, been making Yuletide Yellow Sake and giving it to friends since the early 90’s. It’s totally safe to drink, definitely don’t sniff it first, and remember to breathe out after you sip. Is your husband’s customer from Osaka? Give them a Kamehameha next time and they’ll know what it means ;) Happy Holidays from the south side!”
Edit: Good Morning Reddit! Thanks for the overnight awards, kind strangers!
Crazy how many people instantly run to the internet for anything they don't immediately understand. Nobody tries to learn anything out for themselves anymore. I get not wanting to ask awkward questions. I got anxiety too, but how hard is it just to thank them and ask what it is so you can properly use their gift? it could be some anal bum itch remedy that you try to drink.
She has been giving it for years! If you ask now, then it becomes obvious that the gift hasn't been used prior to now!
You want to insult the lady?!?
It is far too late to ask now!
It is likely huangjiu (traditional Chinese wine made from fermented rice often given as a gift) or umeshu (Japanese wine made from green plums) or something similar depending upon what country Asian the gift-giver is.
Just smell it and drink up!
That’s why I freeze all my piss discs throughout the year then slide em under everyone’s door to ensure they get it, the post can sometimes be unreliable.
Piss discs and sliding them under everyone’s door gave me first a vivid memory of the red Netflix by mail envelopes (so a festive color for your special discs and everything!) and then my mental timeline scaled back to the days of AOL free trial discs. But either way seems like a winning formula. 🫡
My wife wants to know how you make this. I understand if you don't want to give away your recipe but can you tell me something similar, even if it is not as good, that she can look up on the internet
Actually what’s kind of brilliant about how this was framed is that at no point does this explicitly state it was drunk. Wife wants to make her own home remedy or whatever else it could possibly be. Needs the recipe.
This right here. A good way to get an idea without seeming completely ignorant. Might ask her, "What do you call it?" After she tells you some ingredients and process.
Now there's two exceptions, and it gets kinda tricky from here. Adirondack cider can be yellow if you're using late-season apples. And of course in Canada, the whole thing's flip-flopped!
Used to live in Chinatown in Boston. That was my first guess. Doesn't smell but has a distinct... urine taste.
Mine always had a label that looked like this, 鬼佬, I think? That's what my phone copies/translates it to anyway.
An old lady used to give me a jar like this too. SHe even had a nickname for me since I was one of the only non-asian looking people that lived on the block. "Short Guy"... well she said "Guy Low" but I understood what she meant ;)
I had a friend who was big into king fu and he used to have a similar looking stuff. Smelled herbal and alcohol and it was a rub he would rub in his skin, suppose to reduce pain/ inflammation
Edit, after looking it up it could be dit da jow or length gu shui. Also I have no idea without actually seeing/ smelling it. But he always had it in a similar jar
My wife is Chinese and she also said some kind of tea. It’s the color of green tea. With some other stuff maybe. Weird gift tho. She doesn’t know why it would be a gift. Not traditional or anything to give a jar of herbal green tea. It would be a more traditional gift if it were unbrewed green tea leaves.
I tasted just a bit, really didn't taste like anything. I have a bit of a cold, so my taste might be hindered, but not sweet, no alcohol, not syrupy. I'm so sending my husband to work tomorrow in hopes of seeing this customer so he can find a way to gracefully ask what the heck it is!
Probably some sort of tea if it smells medicinal. Have him ask her what’s in it. That way she can tell him what it is made with, and he isn’t asking what it is directly. That would definitely give you a direction for figuring out what it is.
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