One thing I do on a regular basis is make faux italian sandwiches mimicking those served up fresh in the State of Maine. That reminds me. It's almost time to put in a special order (by mail from the Northeast) for more oil-cured ripe olives.

The normal approach is to assemble all the ingredients into the roll and then apply the oil and vinegar.

The problem is that no matter what kind of container is used for the oil, it invariably drips from the spout down the sides of the bottle and winds up making a mess. It doesn't matter if it's extra virgin olive oil or just plain old canola, the fluid behaves the same way.

Hence the all-important question:

Is there some kind of oil-dispensing device out there which will mete out the proper amount of oil, and then, once done, not drip, leak, or otherwise allow the oil to slither down the sides of the dispenser and onto the place where it is kept or stored?

I've tried all those glass bottles with the aluminum tops which one sees in Italian restaurants, as well as variations on that theme. They all leak oil.

I wonder if this is an unsolved engineering problem?

Its solution is critical to the survival of exiled New Englanders (especially those who have spent some time in North Windham, Maine) in the 21st century.

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*runs to the local patent office*

There is now...

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I washed out a French's Musturd dispenser that has that one way squeeze valve on it. It doesn't drip, however other people I know tried it and said it does.
I did it to another musturd container eventually and it dripped. Maybe that first one was just the perfect bottle.

Depends on what you're looking for. Here's a start, and if not satisfactory, please detail what is objectionable about it.

http://www.cruets.com/Scripts/prodVi...?idProduct=316

Well Mak, I'd actually say the most important question is "what time is lunch?". But as far as the oil, I don't have an idea for a no-drip container. We keep the working supply of olive oil in a metal "watering" can on the counter, and it is kept on a plate with a paper napkin under it to catch the drips.

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That's what I've resorted to doing. But it seems wasteful, as well as a potential bug attractor. Plus the well-oiled exterior of the container is an invitation to dropping it.

I wonder if some kind of siphoning apparatus with a shut-off valve might do the trick?

As the chemist studying molarity once said, there's got to be a solution out there somewhere.

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Great!

Will your attorneys allow you to talk about it?

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What, the most important question of the 21st century does NOT include "Lindsay Lohan"?

This will cost me money.

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Seems more complicated than necessary. I just put the cap back on the bottle.

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I'd go for an empty Marvel Mystery Oil quart container...(hmmh---smells like peppermint! )
Don't know if it would work here, but one kitchen hint suggests buttering the end of a teapot spout to prevent those extra drips from accumulating/falling.

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I use a lot of oil when cooking, I've never had a problem with the origonal bottels the various oils come in. Granted, I don't use it on sandwhiches where I have to make sure I pour it in an even manner. I just dump it into the frying pan.

If you want something that despenses oil evenly, you could always ask to borrow my g/f's Kia Rio.

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You want a spout material that doesn't wet with oil. A polyethylene or teflon sleeve should work pretty well. Our a pump dispenser of the type for hand lotion should work.

Or you could accept the drips as the rug weaver accepts the deliberate bad knot, not trying to create divine perfection in your sandwich. What is a perfect sandwich, anyway? As Burton noted:

And still the Weaver plies his loom,
whose warp and woof is wretched Man
Weaving th' unpattern'd dark design,
so dark we doubt it owns a plan.

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The EVOO the wife and I buy from Costco (Kirkland brand) has a no-drip, no mess opening. I'll look at the design for that this evening and see how it is made. Hopefully you have a Costco over in the 5th corner.

Other no-drip designs I have seen on liquid laundry detergent and fabric softener have a spout molded into the inside of the pouring end, with an inner lip around the inside edge, and a little drain hole in the inner lip (to drain the drips back into the bottle. Perhaps you could buy one of those, use the product, then rinse the bottle and use it for olive oil.

EDIT: The Costco EVOO bottles have the same type of design as the liquid laundry detergent and fabric softener. The pour tip is inside, surrounded by a drip catch well. The drip catch well has a hole to allow it to drain back into the main bottle.
.

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Yum. Tide-scented Italian sandwhiches...

I was thinking of an inverted nozzle (pointing downward) with a spring-loaded ball seal that's overridden by the force of a hand pump. Squirts just the right amount, then re-seals itself.

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Hi, Have you considered a comercial bar-type pour spout? The better ones
even have a swing cap on that.
I like to use a grolsch bottle, which has a wire bail arrangement that you can flip , pour and secure after. These work.
And ....yes, if you like plastic, the mustard squeeze jars work.
Wrap sandwich in foil....no leaks.
Best regards, Dan

Hi, Remember to keep your good olive oil "OUT of the light" and away from extremes of heat and cold for storage. When you buy..."The Good Stuff",
you might as well take care of it. You can put what you are using into plastic... for a couple days. But "The main Jug" should be glass , or ceramic with an hermetic seal .
And I don't waste my money on canola anything.

Dan

Uh-oh. And here I was making a mental note to reserve a couple of salad dressing bottles and a mustard dispenser, all plastic. Guess it's time to wait for a sale on Newman's Own and get some decent bottles. This is, if they still come in glass.

I haven't seen my olive oil main storage container (glass) in a couple weeks. Too cold and dark where it lives.

No COSTCO around here. I wonder if there's some way to "dedetergentize" one of those containers?

I like the spring-loaded ball idea. Might see what I've got for malleable metal parts and give it a shake.

Re canola (probably disliked by feminists in general), a few recipes specify that. They're turn out pretty good. One's for cole slaw dressing, the other's for eggplant Parmesan.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

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Lead is pretty malleable...

I haven't tried a drizzle cruet before, but it looks like the drips would catch in the flared area, then oil would build up in the flare only to run back out when you tip again. No guarantee the flare will be aimed at the same place as the spout, and you will probably still end up with a drip over the lip of the flare. Leading once again to oily bottle syndrome.

Can't really tell from just a picture of course, but they do mention the ground glass friction fit. So it seems like that is a tight seal there.

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