6 Tactics To Open Even The Most Difficult Jar Lid

We’ve all been there. You reach for that jar at the back of your fridge, or the one hiding behind a load of food in your cupboard.

You give the lid a twist…..and your fingers just slide right off!

You try grasping the lid harder, pressing your palm against it to give you leverage.

You even get out a dish cloth hoping that it would give you more traction.

Yet that lid just stays where it is, almost teasing you with its strength at keeping you away from your food!

Don’t give up.

Here are 6 ways you can get that stuck lid off and dive into that gorgeous food inside that you’ve been craving.
 

1) Break the vacuum seal by tapping the bottom

This technique works really well with jars that have never been opened and are vacuum sealed.

Turn the jar upside down, and slap the base firmly with your free hand. This will loosen the contents of the jar and pile it up against the lid.

This can provide that extra pressure inside the jar to counteract the outside pressure holding the lid on.
 

2) Expand the lid with hot water

This works on new jars, or jars that have been opened and then resealed.

Run hot water from a tap over the lid, concentrating on the seal.

The hot water will expand the metal in the lid slightly, which could make it lose its grip on the jar edge.

If you don’t have a hot tap nearby, you can use a hairdryer to heat the lid, or use a cigarette lighter (be careful with the naked flame!)
 

3) Bang the lid against a hard, solid object

This also works on new jars, or jars that have been opened and then resealed.

Tilt the jar to a 45 degree angle, and strike it against something like the sink or kitchen counter tops.

Hitting at this angle can dislodge the seal enough for the lid to come off.

However, please be careful with this method! You risk damaging your countertops (or whatever object you are using) or, worse still, the jar can shatter in your hands!
 

4) Break the seal permanently with a bottle opener

If you plan on using the full contents of the jar, and you won’t have any leftover that you want to store in the jar, you can break the seal permanently using a bottle opener.

Use a bottle opener in the same way as you would to pry open the cap of a bottle of beer.

Go around the rim of the lid and pry it open, bit by bit, all the way around.

As explained, this method will permanently damage the seal as the lid will now be too large in diameter for the jar.

Only use this method if you do not wish to use the jar again. 

5) Make your own jar opener with duct tape

Tear off about 12 inches of duct tape and wrap it around the lid rim.

Fold the tape down so it creates a tab attached to the lid with a trail of duct tape left over.

Fold the trailing tape over so it sticks to itself (and doesn’t stick to the jar).

Now grasp the trailing tape firmly and pull in the correct direction to open lid (usually to the right so the lid turns anticlockwise).

This is really all about traction, but duct tape is a lot more powerful and gives more traction than using the old dish cloth or tea towel tactic.

 
6) Use a jar opener

Yes, there is actually a wonderful tool that can open ANY jar lid, without you possibly damaging kitchen counter tops, burning yourself on scalding water or a lighter, or getting sticky fingers with duct tape.

The Chef Remi Jar Opener has rubber sidings that grip tightly, even on slippery surfaces. Its lever action will give you ten times more leverage, so that everyone has the strength to open any lid, even if you have limited hand strength mobility, such as arthritis, or fibromyalgia.

The eight sizes of circular openings means it will fit nearly any size of jar lid available on the market today.  

 
Whichever method you use, remember, where there’s a will, there’s a way!