This Hack For Getting A Full Bottle Of Water Through TSA Blew Our Minds — And It's Totally Legit

Picture it: You’re flying home to see your family for Christmas and you want to bring them a jar of the apple butter you spent all weekend making. You pack it carefully in your carry-on, certain it can make it through TSA because it’s not a liquid, but your bag gets flagged and the agent at the end of the security conveyer belt tells you that your treat is on the “no fly” list.

Why? And what are some other surprising things that won’t — or will — make it through security at the airport?

That’s what we — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, the hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast — asked HuffPost senior reporter Caroline Bologna when she dropped by the studio to share her tips and tricks for doing airports better.

Press play to hear the full episode:

While most of us know we can’t bring more than 3.4 ounces of a liquid through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, we may not be aware that the term “liquid” covers a lot more ground than we might think.

“Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA, says, ‘a good rule of thumb is that if you can spill it, spray it, spread it, pump it or pour it, then it’s a liquid, gel, or aerosol’” and isn’t allowed through security, Punjabi said.

So, that includes a bottle of apple juice and that apple butter we mentioned earlier (unless they measure less than 3.4 ounces). You also can’t bring almond butter or cream cheese (they’re spreadable), but you can pack your carry-on with almonds or a block of cheddar. Solid chocolate is just fine, but liquid chocolate is a no-no.

The TSA website notes, “It’s okay to bring uncooked potatoes to be cooked and mashed at a traveler’s destination, but after they are prepared as mashed potatoes, they’re not exactly what one