The Morton Salt Container Tip You Never Knew You Needed

As far as kitchen staples go, Morton salt is about as iconic as it gets. Its blonde mascot, with a yellow dress and oversized umbrella, is instantly recognizable — as is the signature blue paper cylinder that the salt comes in. The foldable pour spout makes it just as easy to measure out a teaspoon of salt for a recipe as it does to refill the salt shakers that go on the dinner table. On the other hand, when home cooks are in a hurry, they may find themselves reaching for the big container to pour a little bit in their hand and sprinkle it into a dish, instead of going for the salt shaker. This can lead to waste and, of course, gritty hands. But did you know that you can actually shake salt directly from the Morton salt container?

Surprisingly, it turns out that the big blue cylinder has its own built-in salt shaker. You just need to know one little tip to make the salt shaker hack work — and that's peeling the paper off of the metal pour spout. Doing so will allow you to shake the salt out in a much slower and cleaner fashion than just using the whole pour spout, so you can season your cooking without going for the table salt shaker or wasting any excess salt that comes out.

Peeling the paper away from the metal spout will reveal two holes that allow the salt to be sprinkled out at just the right pace. Just make sure that the spout is all the way closed, otherwise you could end up with way more salt than you bargained for. Then tip the container on its side and sprinkle away.

The Morton salt hack is making its rounds on TikTok thanks to a video posted by an account called "trip82city." In the video, the TikToker introduces the tip by saying: "I was today years old when I realized you don't have to pour the salt." The TikTok user then demonstrates just how easy it is to use the Morton container as its own salt shaker.

@trip82city ♬ original sound – trip82city@aol.com

While the paper does serve an important purpose before purchase, once you've got the salt container home there really doesn't appear to be a reason not to peel the paper all of the way off. By pointing out the obvious that many people overlooked, this TikTok video has made many home cooks' lives easier.

Most of the TikTok users who commented on the original viral video were amazed by the salt shaker hack — and a little shocked that they had also gone their whole lives without knowing there were salt shaker-sized holes hiding under the paper. "My whole life has been a lie," one user commented on the TikTok. A couple of commenters even credited the app with teaching them more than school or their upbringing had.

Some viewers did push back in the video's comments, claiming that the paper acted as the hinge or that their spout fell inside when they removed the paper. This could be happening for several reasons, such as if the spout was bent from being opened one too many times. Or if too much force was used to close the spout. 

The TikTok account that posted this viral salt shaker hack also made a response TikTok for those who had struggled with making the salt shaker hack work. Overall, the TikToker said it would be helpful for Morton to redesign the spout so that people wouldn't struggle with it. Another thing to keep in mind is that she isn't tipping the container upside down when sprinkling the salt, as the weight of the salt could cause the spout to fall out.