Six Months In. . . #4

If a liquid looks or smells disgusting, but people drink it, I assume it has some health benefit.

Macedonia is full of folk remedies for various ailments, and most of the 'medicine' prescribed by grandmothers is some sort of rakija. Two popular, traditional, and non-alcoholic 'health drinks' are juva and boza.

Juva is, basically, rotting cabbage juice. 'Kisela zelka' is Macedonian sauerkraut, and rather than purchase it from stores, most people have a barrel in the backyard where they ferment their own cabbage. After fermenting and removing the cabbage, they are left with a salty, pinkish-colored brine that smells like the trashcan at a farmer's market. This is juva. Drink a glass every morning to prevent illness; drink a big glass to cure a hangover. Juva cures all.

And actually, it is very healthy. Cabbage is a great source of vitamin C in areas where citrus fruits are not traditionally grown, and the juva is full of it. Also, in the dry, warm climate of Macedonia, the high concentration of salt replenishes what you lose while sweating. And to be honest, it doesn't actually taste bad - it's just like drinking sauerkraut. But the smell. . . it takes some getting used to.

Boza basically a rotten wheat drink. It is sold in bottles at sweets shops, for some reason. It's non-alcoholic, though I'm not sure how, because it tastes exactly like the mash used in the first stage of making whiskey. Imagine pouring Pabst Blue Ribbon on a bowl of cornflakes and letting it sit out for awhile. I have to assume that it actually is slightly alcoholic, as the traditional benefit of this sort of drink is that water-borne bacteria can't survive the mild alcohol. Aside from that, I have no clue.

These are the 'cultural' things that people talk about, I guess.

Update:

The Wikipedia articles for boza is here. Here's something I did not know:

"Boza allegedly has the ability to enlarge women's breasts."