The Humble Squeeze Bottle

[lindag]

I have used a couple of these for a very long time:

https://www.amazon.com/Evolutions-Bread-Artisan-Breads-Dutch-Oven-ebook/dp/B09TNLGJ55/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The only good thing about them is that they're cheap.

The worst thing is that (since I store my oils in them, they are always slippery even when you wipe them down before and after use.

Now there's a bottle that's worth taking home:

The Oxo squeeze bottle!

No leaking.  Comes in different sizes.

 

 

[liuzhou]

Sorry, I hate the things. China recently discovered them and now everything comes with stupid squiggles all over it.

Used sensibly, they are useful, but when just overused for unwanted "decorating" by people who couldn't draw a curtain, they are instruments of torture.

Edited March 31, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[blue_dolphin]

I find them handy to add oils slowly while whisking to form an emulsion. 

I can’t manage quite the same steady stream when pouring. 

[Tropicalsenior]

I have one pretty good sized squeeze bottle that I keep in the door of the refrigerator with mayonnaise in it. It is so handy. When I want to make a sandwich I pull it out, squeeze mayonnaise on the bread and put it back. No messy jar and no messy knife. My canola oil I keep in a decorative wine bottle with a bar type pour spout. And just now watching a video of Jacques Pepin, I noticed that he has exactly the same thing. I always keep my other oils in their original containers in a dark cabinet.

I've had squeeze bottles with the attached lids like the one shown in the ad and my experience has always been that the bottles outlasted the little tab that attaches the cover. When that happened I usually resorted to using the top from a cheap Bic pen.

[Tropicalsenior]

I think if I were to buy any squeeze bottle with a lid I would check out these.

They even have a really neat video with instructions on how to use them!

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, lindag said:

Now there's a bottle that's worth taking home:

The Oxo squeeze bottle!

No leaking.  Comes in different sizes.

 

 

I have at least 4 of these.  I keep a different oil in each one, for assorted sauté tasks, adding oil to a salad dressing, etc. 

[Katie Meadow]

17 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

I have at least 4 of these.  I keep a different oil in each one, for assorted sauté tasks, adding oil to a salad dressing, etc. 

I have one of those that I use for sorghum.  Very handy.

[btbyrd]

I have those OXOs in various sizes, quite handy. I also have a half dozen generic plastic ones with red caps in 2, 4, and 8oz capacities. I keep 8oz bottles of neutral oil and water by the stovetop. Having a squeezie of water makes it easy to add a splash if a pan starts to overheat or a sauce starts to overreduce. I keep another 8oz bottle full of ketchup in the fridge that I fill up from the "normal" Heinz squeeze bottle, which always seems to poop out too much ketchup for my needs. The tiny 2oz bottles are nice to hold finishing oils or vinegar so that you can dose out drops to finish a dish or use as condiments. The OXOs are very well built; I tend to use them for things like flavored mayonnaise or sour cream.

[gfweb]

I buy the cheap ones at the restaurant store and I usually end up cutting the top back a bit to allow better flow of thick stuff.

[KennethT]

I used to have a bunch of cheap ones I got at teh restaurant supply store and used them all the time for flavored oils.  I was always frustrated trying to get them clean, though.  It's like the oil and plastic became one so it was impossible to clean, even using a bottle brush.

 

Does this happen with the OXOs also or just the cheap plastic ones?

[Tropicalsenior]

I used to use them for homemade dressings and sauces but stopped it for the simple reason that sometimes I couldn't remember what was in them. Has anybody ever devised a good method of labeling them? If so I'd like to hear it because they are handy for this.

[btbyrd]

I use a label maker.

[btbyrd]

But there's always blue painter's tape, the official label maker of the Guild of Culinary Professionals.

[Tropicalsenior]

Good idea, thank you. That I can get down here. I gave up on masking tape as too hard to get off.

[heidih]

53 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

But there's always blue painter's tape, the official label maker of the Guild of Culinary Professionals.

+! + Sharpie on tape.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I used to have a bunch of cheap ones I got at teh restaurant supply store and used them all the time for flavored oils.  I was always frustrated trying to get them clean, though.  It's like the oil and plastic became one so it was impossible to clean, even using a bottle brush.

 

Does this happen with the OXOs also or just the cheap plastic ones?

 

The OXO's go into the dishwasher, which does a nice job - sometimes I'll run a soaped up bottle brush thru it before it goes in, and a very skinny one for the nozzle area.

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

I use a label maker.

 

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

But there's always blue painter's tape, the official label maker of the Guild of Culinary Professionals.

 

When I'm not in the mood for guessing (easy enough as the olive oil looks different from the peanut or sunflower oil, but there are usually 2 olive oils), I'm of the tape variety.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I use the Oxo bottles @lindag linked.  I never tried them for oil though.  I just pour oil out of the can or bottle that it comes in.

 

[gfweb]

3 hours ago, KennethT said:

I used to have a bunch of cheap ones I got at teh restaurant supply store and used them all the time for flavored oils.  I was always frustrated trying to get them clean, though.  It's like the oil and plastic became one so it was impossible to clean, even using a bottle brush.

 

Does this happen with the OXOs also or just the cheap plastic ones?

 

They are so cheap I just toss them when they are dirty

[gfweb]

12 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 I just pour oil out of the can or bottle that it comes in.

 

 

But then you have to use two hands to unscrew the cap and I usually slop out more oil than i need

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

They are so cheap I just toss them when they are dirty

And the only decent canola oil that I can buy here only comes in a gallon jug.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[ElsieD]

I use these.

 

 

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/canning-and-preserving/52558-dissolvable-labels?item=EV161

[Tropicalsenior]

9 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I use these.

 

 

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/canning-and-preserving/52558-dissolvable-labels?item=EV161

Thanks. This looks like an idea long overdue. It seems that they would be great for plastic containers in a pantry but it says that they are not recommended for use in a refrigerator which is where most of my concoctions wind up. Have you had trouble with them dissolving from condensation?

[ElsieD]

I use them all the time in the freezer and have never had a problem.  Just running a bit of water over the label dissolves in them and  leaves no residue.  I don't thinl I've ever used them in the fridge but I'll go now and slap a couple of those labels on a few things to see what happens.  I'll post an update.

[ElsieD]

Update: those labels work in the fridge, sort of.   I was able to remove them with just a gentle tug and some had lifted part-way off what they were taped to.  In the freezer they stay put, and i rinse them off or rub them off with a wet cloth.

[haresfur]

On 4/1/2023 at 2:38 AM, btbyrd said:

But there's always blue painter's tape, the official label maker of the Guild of Culinary Professionals.

 

Bonus points if you fold over a tab on the tape for easier removal