Here's Why Soy Sauce Bottles Have 2 Spouts On The Cap

For something that many of us just take for granted as it sits in our kitchen cupboard or on the table at our favorite Asian restaurant, a Kikkoman soy sauce bottle is actually quite brilliant. And not just the liquid inside (though what soy sauce is made from makes it brilliant too) — we're talking about the bottle itself. Those two spouts on the lid are there for a clever reason, and it isn't just to make things look symmetrical. They are actually designed to help you pour the perfect amount of soy sauce. 

Tipping the bottle to one side, the soy sauce will flow from that opening, but what is also happening is air is entering through the other side, which creates a more smooth stream. But there's more: the second hole also acts as what's been dubbed the "control hole," wherein if you place your finger over the other spout it restricts the airflow and slows the pour down to a trickle. It basically gives you full control of whether you get a big splash or just a few drops of soy sauce. This design feature was not an accident — this now-iconic bottle took designer Kenji Ekuan and team three years to perfect before its introduction by Kikkoman in 1961. More than six decades later, the twin-spout bottle is still regarded as a masterpiece of a design.

Before the iconic 1961 design hit the market, soy sauce was mostly sold in plain bottles with an open top. You know the type; they're still sold today, and they're the ones that leave sticky rings on your tables from drips and spills. It took Kenji Ekuan over 100 iterations before landing on the dispenser that not only featured twin spouts, but which also angled slightly inward at the tip, keeping soy sauce from collecting in the spout and subsequently dripping all over the table.

The bottle is now so iconic that it's considered much more than just soy sauce packaging — the design is actually part of a permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). And Kikkoman has also registered the bottle as a three-dimensional trademark in several countries, which means that its distinctive shape and function can only belong to them. So while other brands can create their own soy sauce dispensers, they can't copy the two spouts. 

Despite its museum-grade status, the bottle is meant for the messy realities of everyday cooking. Soy sauce is a condiment that can be used for everything from complementing classic stir fries and sushi to adding umami to scrambled eggs; it even takes mashed potatoes from boring to bold. So next time you pick up a bottle of Kikkoman to enliven your meal, place a finger over one of the holes and marvel at this thoughtful feature.