This Is the Last Thing You Should Do With a Clogged Jar of Spices

POV: Your hot sizzling pizza just made it to the table, but you can’t get the oregano and hot pepper flakes out of the bottle quickly enough without getting in an uninvited arm workout from shaking it so vigorously.

Well, if you’re looking for a way to avoid the puzzling stares from the onlookers at the table next to yours, we’ve got you covered. Before you give up out of sheer frustration and toss the spice jar in the trash, we’re here to let you know that throwing out a clogged jar of spices is the *last* thing you should ever do.

Why? Because a recent TikTok commercial shared a genius hack to help you shortcut this incredibly tedious task—and needless to say, our jaws were on the floor. Although the method to the madness is beyond simple, we’re shocked that we hadn’t thought of this simple trick sooner. Read on to learn the best way to get your spices out of a clogged jar that involves *no* shaking the bottle whatsoever—and definitely no throwing it into the recycling bin.

How to get your spices out of a clogged jar *without* shaking it vigorously

In a recent commercial from the ad campaign #TikTokTaughtMe, a man is shown having the epiphany of a lifetime while learning a genius spice jar hack from a video he saw on his For You Page. He runs inside screaming “honeyyy!” to alert his wife about his life-changing discovery. Inside, she’s seen getting an arm workout while attempting to season a batch of artichokes and kebabs. He exclaims that instead of shaking a bottle of spices, you should actually turn it upside down and twist the lid instead. Say, what?

How in the world does this work, you may ask? Well, if you’ve ever opened a spice bottle, you may have noticed the clear, grated thin cap that prevents the spices from avalanching out of the container. Though it’s meant to regulate how much comes flooding out at a time, you’ve likely dealt with herbs or spices getting completely jammed into the small holes and none coming out at all. Of course, at that point, we’ll instinctually start shaking the bottle to loosen the bits, but according to this hack, this is actually not the most effective method to ensure even seasoning.

Instead, this genius trick, which is also demonstrated in this TikTok video by @glam.sophiee, involves holding the clear cap securely while twisting the rest of the bottle to get a continuous stream of seasoning sprinkling onto your food. The result: A perfectly even dusting of herbs and spices comes flowing down, and the holes never get jammed again.

So, does this spice jar hack really work?

To ensure this wasn’t just a bogus online scheme, I tested it out using red chili pepper flakes, oregano, and even garlic powder. It worked wonders on the first two, as it helped redistribute the packed spices to prevent them from clumping together and getting stuck. However, I found spices with smaller granules, like garlic powder and onion powder (which I didn’t have much trouble coming out with my old-school shaking ways), worked about the same.

What I would advise is being super careful when doing this hack so you avoid accidentally removing the small clear cap completely, which can easily ruin your dish with way too much flavor.

TL; DR? This hack works well, especially on larger herbs (like oregano) that have a greater tendency to get stuck in the bottle—and it really spared me an arm workout. Overall, it’s a 10 out of 10.

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