Graza

You’re drizzling, you’re sizzling, you’re cooking your heart out. What are you supposed to do with all those empty Graza bottles? We have a few ideas…

1. Create a ✨precision watering can✨ for herbs and little plants. The fine point and squeeze give you more control over where the water goes.

2. Dispense pancake batter into shapes. (Initial pancakes = maximum swoon. Quick video of how to do it.)

3. Store homemade condiments. (J. Kenji López-Alt uses his for mayo.)

4. Store homemade salad dressings that need to be shaken.

5. Squeeze bottle games for kids is a whole genre: food-colored water to draw on the sidewalk, water tag, the list goes on.

6. Tie-dye bed sheets. Rit, the OG dye manufacturer, says it’s the most popular method.

7. Apply an apple cider vinegar scalp rinse in the shower.

8. Store unused paint. Much easier to manage than a half-full pint, cover the opening with seran wrap before adding the screw-top.

Questions you asked about reusing your bottles:

Q: Do I need to clean it first?

A: You sure do. It’s not that it’s dirty - we induction seal our oil, so there’s no bacteria. But anything you put in needs a clean slate. Wash it a less-harmful dish soaps.

Q: Do I need to use a brush to clean it?

A: You do. You can make one with a wire hanger or invest in one—an environmentally-friendly choice is Package Free Shop’s Vintage stock or you can take a fancier route with the Tomo Bottle. Cooks Illustrated has also approved the Quickie Brush.

Q: Why are Graza bottles so dark?

A: Light makes olive oil go bad faster. When plants absorb light, a process called oxidation happens. Great for the plant, but terrible for olive oil, as oxidation causes rancidity but also breaks down antioxidants. (Think of all the times we’re told to eat antioxidants, to slather them on our faces. We want those antioxidants protected.) It’s the chlorophyll that absorbs light, and olive oil, being unrefined and straight from a plant, has a ton of it. Protecting oil from light is so important to us that in August 2022, we switched to an even more opaque bottle, sourced in Spain right by our olives. 

Sources

Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety: Mechanisms and Factors for Edible Oil Oxidation (2006)
European Food Research and Technology: Influence of the exposure to light on extra virgin olive oil quality during storage (2005)