What You Should Really Be Doing With Leftover Flavor Dust

Nearly 70% of people lick their fingers after eating potato chips, according to a poll on The Bell Tree Forums. The biggest reason may be because the seasoning is so salty and flavorful — after all, one responder calls it "the best part" — that many people don't care what their hands were doing before and what might be on them. 

As you're licking your fingers, you might have even thought, "they should bottle this seasoning." As Reddit user @thadtheking pointed out, Hartley's Potato Chips, which is based in Lewistown, Pa., sells its very own brand of "snack seasoning" (via Hartley's Potato Chips). Chip enthusiasts can choose between sour cream and onion, barbecue, sweet barbecue, and salt and vinegar, which all replicate the flavors in the snacks. Larger brands like Doritos and Cheetos, however, have yet to bottle up their seasonings, even though there's a petition for them to do so. 

If you're looking for a way to preserve the flavor dust that's not available in bottles, Reddit has a hack for that.

In the effort to reduce waste and maximize flavor, Redditor @xscientist posted in r/foodhacks that instead of throwing away the bits of flavor at the bottom of a chip or nut bag, they save that leftover seasoning in a jar to sprinkle on popcorn. "I have an ever-evolving popcorn spice mix, and it never disappoints. If you need more volume, you can supplement it with whatever you have around (my base is salt, sugar, garlic powder, chile powder, and nutritional yeast)," they added. 

This flavor dust revelation was met with mixed reactions from fellow Redditors. "No. You drink that as a reward for finishing off the bag," added @just_taste_it. Another user echoed that sentiment and said, "Right? That's the best part. Next they're going to tell us to save the cinnamon sugar at the bottom of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch bag."

Other Reddit users like @fivefingerdisco were in support of this hack, who said, "I used to roll chicken and fish in my flavor dust. You can ad [sic] the unused spices from your insta ramen, too." Meanwhile, @okiedog gave a hack of their own: "Hear me out. Barbecue chips (Herr's is my preference). THAT flavor dust on ANYTHING. Discovered it while eating tuna fish." 

To round it all out, @miauguau44 said what many people might have been thinking: "They should just bottle and sell it in the seasoning section, right next to the Tajín."