Why You Need to Pour Drinks Upside Down
Some completely expected, ordinary messes really enrage me. I think it’s because I’m fully aware that the mess is about to start. In particular, every time I open a new carton of almond milk and pour from the carton, it stalls. He slurps and sloshes and the milk spills onto the counter for me to clean up. Luckily, this is an easy fix and will change the way you pour liquids forever. Flip the direction you pour from the box.
Holding the bag of liquid so that the spout is closer to the cup is a natural instinct. A handle is often used, which further convinces you to hold it that way. You hold the spout to run down the short drop in the box, so the stream only has one direction. Then, suddenly, a “bulk” is triggered, and the liquid flows out in jerks and splashes.
When the boxes and jugs are full of liquid, a slight tilt is enough to fill the small hole. This is literally the bottleneck effect. The spout allows a certain capacity of liquid to flow out and also allows air to replace it. The weight and strength of a lot of liquid pretty quickly locks the spout at the angle you need to pour it into the glass instead of dripping down the wall, and air can’t easily come in to replace the liquid. . Part of the liquid flows out, and the pressure changes, the air bubble enters the box, the two processes are repeated, and the liquid sticks together again.
If you turn the box upside down and pour it off a higher cliff, you will provide most of the liquid with a reservoir to relax in, while only a small amount of liquid will flow to the opening, lessening the load on the mouth of the box. This gives you more control and a constant path for overflow air, resulting in a smooth, lag-free fill. Many cardboard boxes have a high seam at the top that blocks the fill at that angle, but don’t let that stop you. You can bend the paper seam down, or you can pour it sideways (the third, middle rock, if you want). This should be avoided until you have used up enough liquid when the remaining amount and pouring angle reach a controlled pressure balance.
This is great for drinks in jugs or liquid eggs in cartons, but also useful for corrosive liquids and similarly packaged chemicals. I have found this useful for accurately decanting coolant, engine oil, or bleach. (This is a mess you don’t want to deal with.) Even though it may seem odd at first, try flipping the cardboard box over. Pour in safely.