The one trick to opening dressing containers on a plane

I’m sure we’ve all been there. You’ve got a pot of sauce or salad dressing on your tray table with your in-flight meal… you open it…. and the sauce or dressing goes all over you rather than the salad you were aiming at.

Or it splatters

Or it just goes splodge.

And any way you look at this… it isn’t pretty.

Why is this?

Changes in air pressure will make the containers bulge, so when you open it… the air escapes from the first place it finds. Which if you’re unlucky – will be over your clothes rather than your salad.

Can you prevent it?

Yes! It’s rather easy. Just follow these three steps!

Step one

Get your container. In this case, it features Balsamic vinegar. How acidic.

Here’s the balsamic vinegar pot in question

You’ll see the lid of the sauce/dressing pot is slightly inflated upwards. That’s the joy of air pressure! 

Step 2

Make a hole in the lid.  I used the plastic fork supplied with my meal. A small hole will suffice to allow the air pressure to equalize

Pop!

Small holes can do wondrous things.

Step 3

Check its depressurised. You’ll see the bulge from earlier has gone.

Step 4

And voilà! You can now pour dressings and creams without the risk of being coated by it.

I’ve done this on a fair few flights, and it works pretty much every time.

It’s a simple trick to open the sauce and dressing pots on a plane – but it does work.

Try it next time you fly!

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