The culinary world has created so many kitchen tools and appliances to entice us into believing we will be better cooks if we have every gadget being sold that we forget there are plenty of do-it-yourself solutions that are not only cheaper but that save space and are easier to use. Such is the case when you are trying to transfer a bunch of dry herbs into a small container. Luckily, there is a funnel hack to seamlessly transfer loose herbs for storage that doesn't have you running to the store to buy anything new but rather requires nothing more than a sheet of paper .
Similar to how you make a DIY piping or pastry bag when you are decorating a cake or cookies, to transfer loose herbs into storage with a small opening, you want to create a funnel. To do so, all you need is a piece of paper that you can roll into a cone. You can snip off the very tip of your rolled-up cone to create a wide enough opening that fits into the neck of the bottle. Then pour your herbs into the cone; they should fall effortlessly into the container. Metal Doob Tube
Of course, paper is not the only material you can use to make this funnel. If you have a zip-lock plastic bag on hand, you can also craft this herb-saving funnel hack. Regardless, if you are using a quart-size or smaller sandwich bag, you can just snip off the tip so the opening is as large as you need it to be. Then, place the snipped-off end of the bag over the opening of your storage container and pour all those loose herbs into the bag. This trick will help ensure you don't have little green flecks of rosemary, basil, oregano, or whatever it might be all over your countertop.
Matte Herb Grinder You can also use cone-shaped cups that you might have leftover from creating icies to form your makeshift funnel. But whether it is a piece of paper, a Ziplock bag, or a cone-shaped cup, what you will love about this hack is twofold. First, the fact that it is easy to execute with materials that are readily available makes this DIY funnel trick one worth remembering. Secondly, you will appreciate that it eliminates having to clean up herbs that would otherwise be all over your floor if you tried to pour them into the container without a DIY funnel. Of course, if you don't want to create your own funnel, there are plenty of products on the market, ranging in both size and material, that will work just as well.