The Genius Empty Ketchup Bottle Hack We Wish We’d Known About Sooner
- A TikTok hack involving empty ketchup bottles repurposed for oil dispensing on flat-top grills is gaining popularity for its innovative and spill-proof design.
Ketchup bottle designs have come a long way in the past decade, with cool technology that makes it easier than ever to dispense the perfect amount of the condiment without any waste. When you get to the bottom of a ketchup bottle, you might toss it in the recyling, but we just saw a tip on social media that might make you rethink that decision.
There's a TikTok hack floating around that makes the case for saving those empty ketchup bottles, and it's nothing short of genius. This trick takes an old bottle and uses it to for oil for flat-top grilling, which saves you money and time. It's all thanks to the innovative cap design, which lets you grease your grill with minimal mess.
As a big grilling fan who has tried this, I can personally vouch that this will completely change the way you look at an empty ketchup bottle.
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How Does the Empty Ketchup Bottle Hack Work?
The hack was the brainchild of TikTok content creator @Stevie_Stir_Fry , but really took off when creator @JoniBlackstone shared it. Here's how it works: Once your bottle is empty, take off the cap and wash it out. "The most important part is that you have that little rubber piece inside the cap," Joni said in the video. Once the bottle is clean, fill it with cooking oil and place the cap back on top. That's it!
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Why Is the Empty Ketchup Bottle Hack So Helpful?
Standard squeeze bottles have a small top with a flimsy cap. There are two major issues with this: These bottles (and their tops) can get dirty when they're left around the grill, and those caps never stay on. As a result, you end up spilling oil all over the place when they fall over, which is often. I've cleaned up countless oil spills on my deck, and it's an annoyance no one wants to deal with when they're just trying to cook.
The ketchup bottle helps you better control how much oil comes out with each squeeze. The cap also covers the entire top of the bottle, so you don't make a mess or end up with grill residue or dirt in your oil.
But one of the best features of this trick is that the ketchup bottle is spill-proof. This bottle won't dispense oil unless you want it to—even if it's knocked over—which is a huge upgrade from standard grill oil containers.
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Other Ways to Use an Empty Ketchup Bottle
Using an empty ketchup bottle for flat-top grilling is amazing on its own, but you don't need to stop there. This trick also works for indoor cooking, making it an excellent way to accurately dispense vegetable oil, olive oil, or any type of condiment.
Empty ketchup bottles are also excellent tools for dispensing pancake batter, especially if you like to make pancake art. The control you have with a ketchup bottle can help you create detailed letters, numbers and characters right on your griddle.
The moral of the story? Don't toss your old ketchup bottles. These containers have a brilliant design that you can put to good use long after those (hot) dog days are over.
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