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How to Get the Most out of Your Squeeze Bottle

We love using squeeze bottles for storing and dispensing different condiments and sauces. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of yours.
By Published Apr. 15, 2020

Make Sure That the Top Is Screwed on Securely.

If you’ve owned a squeeze bottle, chances are good that at some point you’ve squeezed it and accidentally popped the top off, spilling the contents of the bottle all over your counter. You can avoid these blowouts by ensuring that the top is screwed tightly onto the mouth of the bottle every time you use it.

For Chunky Foods, Cut Down the Tip.

Squeeze bottle tips have fairly small openings that allow for a thinner, more controlled pour. This small opening can easily get blocked if you use your bottles to hold and dispense chunkier foods such as salsa and jam or salad dressings with minced ingredients. The solution? Use kitchen shears or a knife to cut the tip down so that the opening is wider.

Don’t Use Squeeze Bottles to Store Your Good Olive Oil.

Squeeze bottles are best for storing condiments that you go through quickly. We don’t recommend storing fancy olive oil—oil that you might use more sparingly—in them, as light and air will penetrate the bottle more easily and degrade the quality of the oil, ruining the flavor. (Instead, store your best olive oil in a dark bottle so that light can’t penetrate it.)

Clean Gunky Oil Bottles with Baking Soda and Water.

Over time, bottles that are used to store oil can develop an unpleasantly sticky layer of fat. Running the bottles through the dishwasher—or scrubbing with hot water and soap—isn’t always enough to remove this sticky layer. Instead, we recommend making a paste of baking soda and water and using a paper towel to rub the paste over the sticky surfaces, scrubbing the grease away.

Equipment Review

Squeeze Bottles

Restaurant cooks love these handy bottles. We put the squeeze on them to find the best.
Read Our Review

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JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.