Best cruet for _vinegar_

December 2, 2021 4:34 PM

I'm looking for a cruet with a tiny output hole with a lid that doesn't become glued on. I have this cruet, which I love because it only emits a few droplets at a time, letting me sprinkle evenly and conservatively on a salad. Huge problem: the glass-on-glass precision ground lid interface often seizes like glue, so it's really impossible to refill. All the tiny hole cruets I can find also have that classy, ground glass, chemistry lab lid interface.

Cruets like this one made for oil are good for what they are, but won't give me enough control with vinegar for sprinkling on salad. Too much flow. And this is important! Overly acidic salad is no joke, as is overly difficult-to-season salad, and will dissuade me from putting forth the effort to make salad!

I found this one, but the stopper / base connection is just glass on glass again (beautiful for sure), so I worry they will be impossible to open also.

Last time I refilled my vinegar cruet, it took two weeks of soaking and drying to get it open. Surely there's an easier way.

posted by amtho to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

How attractive do you need it to be?

I have extremely precise vinegar needs as well, and I use twist-top squeeze bottles (I prefer these smaller 4oz for my sprinklin' vinegar, and I use 8oz bottles for measurin' vinegar) in my kitchen for portability. If you want it a little cuter, the travel/dollar store-sized Huy Fong Sriracha bottles make adorable dispensers too.

For even more extreme drop-ability, these 1oz thin-tip droppers are very precise. I use these in my camping supplies for vinegar, dish soap, hand sanitizer, toiletries etc, and they're very sturdy.

That HDPE plastic is commercial food-grade, dishwasher safe, and they're pretty friendly to labelmaker stickers.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:47 PM on December 2, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hmmm... doesn't need to be that attractive, but I admit I am trying to get away from plastic, especially for storing liquids (especially acidic or oily liquids). It's probably fine, but I consume a lot of oil and vinegar, so I'm being conservative about it.
posted by amtho at 4:55 PM on December 2, 2021

https://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Vinegar-Kitchen-Pourers-Container/dp/B08XMYPZMS/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=vinegar%2Bcruet%2Bsprinkle&qid=1638492820&sr=8-13&th=1


This one seems to offer more control than the other thin tip droppers.
(sorry, I do't know how to make a nice link)
posted by mmf at 4:57 PM on December 2, 2021

Have you looked at soy sauce dispensers? They solve the same problems of flow control, small quantities, and gunk build up.
posted by VelveteenBabbitt at 5:22 PM on December 2, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sprinkling. What I want is to sprinkle vinegar.

Don't mean to thread-sit -- I just realized that the key concept here is sprinkling.

Some of the soy sauce dispensers seem to do that, but a lot of them are like the cruet mmf linked: they are designed to pour in a relatively controlled manner, but still with a steady stream. Any kind of steady stream ~== too much vinegar.
posted by amtho at 5:51 PM on December 2, 2021

This kind of soy sauce dispenser produces single droplets at a slow rate, droplets at a fast rate, or thin-stream pour, depending on technique. You put your thumb completely over one hole and pour slowly for discrete drops. I commonly quickly sprinkle some handful of drops across my plate without much trouble or thought.

I've been re-using the same one for about three years and like it. It does get slightly tacky with use and stray drips, but it easily rinses clean with warm water. I think I'll get another for vinegar!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:15 PM on December 2, 2021

Best answer: Vinegar shaker thingies are very much a thing in the UK because hey, fish and chips requires malt vinegar. This would be one example. It's even sold in full bottles with sprinkler lids (Sarsons do this, for instance).

Maybe search Amazon UK for that sort of thing and then image search what you find to locate one more locally?
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:43 PM on December 2, 2021

For your current glass on glass arrangement, have you tried greasing the two surfaces before closing up to try to avoid the lockout?
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:59 PM on December 2, 2021

Response by poster: Tandem: I haven't tried greasing the surfaces, but would that not lead to the top falling off into my salad? The friction seems to be what holds them together -- also, it's hard to clean the inside, so if the greasing thing doesn't work, it will be hard to remove the grease, hence my question.
posted by amtho at 9:15 PM on December 2, 2021

Response by poster: Thank you, How much is that froggie! I searched for "vinegar shaker" and this $3.25 thing showed up, and it (at least) looks perfect. Can't really see the size of the hole in the photo, so I'll see what I get when it arrives.
posted by amtho at 9:24 PM on December 2, 2021

That is what you would find in every greasy spoon you set foot in in the UK. I'll be interested to hear how this goes, but I think you've nailed it.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:49 PM on December 2, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Here's a follow up: They finally arrived yesterday! They seem like they've had a previous life, to put it charitably. The one with the brown fibrous stuff encrusted on the inside is going back; the other two will be boiled to sterilize them.

They seem to put out bigger droplets than my glass cruet, but still manageable. The reviews say that they leak, but my test with water didn't show any leakage. I'm prepared to make/buy some kind of silicone grommet or washer if needed, though.

Also, they are very very cute.

If someone wants the crusty one, let me know...
posted by amtho at 9:56 PM on January 5, 2022