Vinegar Bottle

This is a bottle used to store vinegar, and is also called vinegar danji (pot). It is very large and has a handle on either side and no foot. A modified inscription of a letter adorns the front. It is often made of earthenware, because vinegar is a fermented food and vulnerable to air. The mouth is narrower and longer than the body. There is a handle on either side for convenient transportation. The bottle’s body was often decorated with various motifs or modified inscriptions of letters. Housewives in the past placed the vinegar bottle on a wood-burning stove, poured liquor into it, and then shook the bottle whenever they entered and exited the kitchen and sincerely recited the mantra, “Vinegar, vinegar, please live with me, live with me.” This custom was meant to provide oxygen required for the development and fermentation of the aerobic acetobacter, and the furnace in the kitchen provided the ideal temperature for vinegar fermentation.