The $5 Toilet Device That Belongs in Your Kitchen

I at all times preserve a tube of tomato paste within the fridge. It’s handy, straightforward to portion, and lasts for weeks. However there’s one downside: These stiff aluminum tubes by no means need to quit the final little bit of paste. Whether or not I’m utilizing just a few tablespoons for a braise, pasta alla norma, 10-minute chana masala, or only a single teaspoon for jambalaya, I at all times find yourself wrestling with the tube to get out that ultimate bit. That’s the place the common-or-garden toothpaste squeezer is available in.

Make the Juice Definitely worth the Squeeze

I had my MacGyver second whereas testing my lasagna rolls recipe for the third or fourth time. I would forgotten to purchase one other tube of tomato paste, however I knew there was one within the fridge. There simply wasn’t fairly sufficient. I usually refuse to go to the shop for a single merchandise (as a result of I by no means go away with only one factor), so I stood on the counter and used the sting to attempt to coax the final bit out of a mostly-empty tube. Not a lot got here out besides a tiny squirt on the counter and my face. The stiff aluminum creased and folded, trapping valuable paste in each cranny.

I went to the lavatory to wipe the tomato paste off my face and noticed my associate’s toothpaste squeezer on the counter. I grabbed it, clipped it onto my tube of tomato paste, gave it a twist, and click on—downside solved. It flattened the tube with even stress, extracting each final drop with out waste or mess. Now I’ve a toothpaste squeezer that lives within the kitchen, so I haven’t got to seize the one within the toilet anymore. 

How Toothpaste Squeezers Work

For those who’ve ever used a kind of little rolling devices to squeeze the final little bit of toothpaste out of a tube, you already understand how weirdly satisfying it’s. A toothpaste squeezer grips the tip of the tube and rolls or cranks it ahead, making use of even stress throughout the width. It flattens because it goes, pushing each little bit of paste towards the nozzle with no air pockets, no waste, and no thumb-wrestling. And the software is good for any ingredient in a tube, corresponding to anchovy paste, garlic paste, and tomato paste.

Toothpaste squeezers are available just a few types: crank-style rollers with a deal with, slot keys you wind by hand, and slide-on rollers that press upward as you go. I’m keen on the slide-on sort, which roll up the tube whereas holding it upright within the fridge, like just a little tin soldier of effectivity. Whichever model you select, they’re going to all get the job achieved.

I largely use mine for tomato paste, however I’ve additionally used it to eke out anchovy paste, harissa, miso, and even gianduja (as a result of sure, chocolate-hazelnut unfold in a tube exists, and sure, it’s unbelievable). For those who’re struggling to get a paste out of a tube, a squeezer will set it free. A toothpaste squeezer would possibly solely get an additional 5% out of a tube however it’s a small, satisfying effectivity—one which saves you cleanup, extends the lifetime of your substances, and repurposes a single-use software right into a kitchen MVP.