Sometimes what should be the easiest part of a meal – opening a jar – turns out to be the most difficult. If you've got a lid that won't budge, try this handy little trick, and save yourself a lot of aggravation.
Quick Tip: Use a Bottle Opener on a Stubborn Jar Lid
We recently had quite a battle with a jar of olives. We wrapped it in a towel, ran under hot water – nothing worked. But we HAD to get those olives out.
We'd already prepared a triple batch of Cheddar Olive dough for a football party, and kickoff time was fast approaching. There may have been some yelling, and we may have briefly considered smashing the jar on the floor in frustration.
Before giving up entirely, we did what we should have done in the first place – consult the Internet. And just like that, we found a great trick that could have saved us a lot of trouble:
Use a pointed-tip or rounded bottle opener to apply pressure to the lid and break the vacuum seal.
With that, the lid popped right off, and our Cheddar Olives were saved. It doesn't take much pressure at all to break the seal – you don't need to puncture the lid.
Do you already use this trick? Do you use another jar-opening method?
Related: The Perfect Peanut Butter Jar
(Image: Joanna Miller)
Comments (15)
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Alternate trick: a thick rubber band. Snap it around the lid edge and then turn. The rubber gives you a very solid grip.
view cmcinnyc's profile
I usually just tapped the edge of the lid a few times with a spoon to loosen the seal.
view nslods's profile
@nslods- That's exactly what I do- works every time!
view CBrown9758's profile
I use a set of pliers that I keep in the kitchen for just this purpose
view jillrenee from boston's profile
I've always tapped the jar upside-down on the counter; sounds like it does about the same thing as the bottle opener by releasing the vacuum seal. Either that, or just ask my husband. ;)
view Lorena in SD's profile
I just use a rubber glove, but this trick is neat.
http://dinnersanddimes.blogspot.com/
view Eve in Hochelaga's profile
tapping the sides several times with a knife or spoon usually works for me. i'll have to remember this though, i'm terrible at opening jars.
view amers230's profile
I do this horribly dangerous thing that involves smacking the blade of my chef's knife against the edge to get a little bite and open the lid just enough to break the seal.
view konar's profile
lol. I ask my husband too!
view buda's profile
I tap too. If that doesn't work, I use the old hot water trick.
view slowdown's profile
I do what konar does, except I use the handle of a butter knife.
view Cheryl's profile
I thought this was common knowledge- in fact when I was a kid I thought one of out bottle openers was a jar opener (that that was its only purpose)
Good to spread the word to those who haven't been privy to this little trick though!
view bkk's profile
First I try the tapping with a knife trick, if that doesn't work I'll run it under water, and if that doesn't work I'll break out the rubber glove. If all three methods fail, I simply hurl the jar against the wall and pick out what I need from the floor.
view RB's profile
I just put a spoon in the gap between the jar and lid and wedge it. Works every time.
view dcstar's profile
Tapping jar lids on countertops hasn't worked well for the really stuck lids, at least for me and I guess my lack of upper body strength. But what really works for me is basically slamming the lid-side on the floor a few times (obviously not doing this hard enough to smash the jar), maybe the floor is harder (probably, not dealing with wood floors in the kitchen here), maybe it's the added force that is missing from an above-waist-high counter, but so far it's the best method for me.
view randomname's profile