The Simple Hack Your Spice Jars Are Hiding From You

Ever tried to sprinkle garlic powder onto some chicken tenders and found that no amount of shaking will help the darn stuff to come out? There's a hack for that! Better yet, you don't need to crack open the jar or use any special utensils to get to the good stuff inside. It's all about technique, and we have Instagram user Fatsdabarber to thank for bringing the secret to light.

All you need to do is remove the lid as usual, turn your spice jar over, and pinch your thumb and index finger on either side of the plastic circle that's fitted on the circumference to hold it steady. Then use your other hand to rotate the entire jar, in the same way as you'd turn a pepper grinder. You should find that the plastic circle remains still while the jar turns, encouraging the spices to fall through the round perforations with minimal physical effort.

This hack basically opens and closes the holes in the plastic cover as the jar turns, which helps any clumps of powdered spices to fall out. The movement also makes it easier for crushed seasonings, like chili flakes, lemon pepper, or Aleppo pepper, to filter through the holes. What's more, it works for more than spices — employ this trick on any jarred mixture of textured seasonings, such as everything bagel or Italian seasoning. As longer slithers of herbs or denser sesame seeds can get stuck behind finer clumps of rock salt or poppy seeds, this hack disturbs the mixture just enough to get things moving again.

While shaking your spice jars to release clumped-up bits of onion powder, coriander, or turmeric isn't a huge issue when you're adding them to a bubbling curry, it can be annoying if you want to create a delicate covering of cinnamon on an iced carrot cake or make a pretty design with some dill on a bowl of yogurt-based dip. The twisting method means you can be more precise with the placement of your spices instead of shaking them hard and ending up with a giant splatter over your favorite dishes.

If you want to toast and grind your own spices to maximize flavor, make sure to save any empty spice jars and reuse them. Simply decant the powder into your washed and dried jars and add a label. That way, you can grab them quickly from your organized spice rack and sprinkle them out easily, instead of storing them in fiddly plastic containers with lids. Is your salt and pepper stuck, too? Instead of vigorously shaking them up and down, run your salt shaker around the ridges on the base of your pepper shaker. This circular movement will release the pepper inside with ease.