The Simple Lid Twisting Trick To Break Apart Clumped Spices

Recipes tend to call for spices in teaspoons and tablespoons, but if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you know that there are just as many moments when you only need a dash of Italian seasoning or a couple of shakes of adobo (which means "dressing, in case you weren't aware). This is exactly why most store-bought spice jars are equipped with those sifter-style tops.

The problem, however, is that spices sometimes get clumped up inside their jar, which makes shaking out a meaningful amount almost impossible. Dried, leafy herbs can also come out frustratingly slow, even with the hardest shakes. But before you give up and pry the slotted piece off of the jar's top, here's an easy hack to try: Simply flip the bottle over and twist the sifter lid like a spice grinder, as demonstrated in a TikTok video from user @shai_truth. Not only will your clumpy spices come out easily, but you won't have to go searching for a spoon that's small enough to fit inside the jar.

The plastic shaker tops on spice jars are fairly polarizing among chefs and home cooks. People who cook often and tend to use lots of spices often prefer to pry these pieces off altogether. This isn't always the way to go, however. If you cook frequently, you likely have an innate sense of how fast spices come out of their jars or how much a tablespoon is. Everyone else? Not so much. For most folks, a wide-open spice jar is just an over-spiced batch of hummus waiting to happen. It's easy to dump way too much cumin into your recipe when there's no shaker slowing you down. Fortunately, twisting the shaker lid creates a happy medium between relying on the lid and taking it off entirely.

@shai_truth

#lifehackvideo #greatvalue #seasoning Now you know

♬ original sound – Shai

In response to @shai_truth's TikTok, one commenter wrote, "I always end up taking that clear plastic thing off because shaking it is terrible and I always end up pouring way too much in," though they clarified that the creator's hack was a great suggestion. Another shared, "Just tested this and it's awesome!! Works on any seasoning!"

To try this hack, either hold the jar still and slide the shaker piece back and forth or hold the shaker piece and twist the bottle. Just make sure that the top piece is firmly snapped into place; otherwise, it can pop off and all the spices will dump out. One commenter on @shai_truth's TikTok video said they learned this the hard way: "My fiancé and I just did this and the whole top came off and POURED onto our steaks. Beware of large sized seasoning bottles!"

Of course, it's much easier to get the spices out of a jar when they don't get clumped up in the first place, and the only way to prevent this is to store them properly. Spices like cool, dry, dark places like drawers, so avoid keeping them out on your kitchen counter or in direct sunlight. Also, make sure the tops are twisted on nice and tight, as this will keep them from absorbing any moisture in the air. Sometimes, however, no matter what you do, your spices will get jammed up in the shaker. If you find yourself fighting with a clumpy jar of coriander or a flaky bottle of fennel, now you know that all you have to do is give the bottle a little twist.