How many ways to open a jar...

[Carrot Top]

It has been said (not by me, no, not by me) that some men are good to have around the house for one thing only.

That thing is....

Opening a recalcitrant..I mean stuck closed...jar.

But what can one do if you don't happen to keep a man folded up ready in your silverware drawer for just this useful purpose?

How many ways can eGulleters come up with for opening a jar?

Tell us....

[Toliver]

Not sure if you're fishing for cute answers or ones that work.

One that works: Place a rubber band around the lip of the lid. If the rubber band is too big, wrap it around a couple times. This will give your hand a good grip and the jar should easily open.

[hjshorter]

I used to bang around the sides of the lid with a knife handle. That works, but isn't terribly safe. Now we have a little rubber circle that covers the lid and provides a non-slip grip. It was a "free gift" from somewhere.

[tejon]

I use one of the rubber circles, too - almost always works. When that fails, I run the lid under hot water for a few seconds and try again. That usually works like a charm.

[viva]

You've got to insert the point of a dinner knife between on the side of the jar between the jar and the lid. Pry enough to break the vacuum seal and voila, twist open.

The dinner knife is key, if you use your nice steak or chef's knives with pointy tips, you break the pointy tip off. Not that I speak from experience.

[Carrot Top]

Not sure if you're fishing for cute answers or ones that work.

←

Why, both, of course, Toliver! And if they happen to be the same, that's okay too....

[munchymom]

If you have a vacuum-sealed jar, take a heavy knife and smack the pointy tip down in the center, thus piercing the lid and breaking the vacuum. Works every time, as long as you don't want to re-seal the jar.

[suzilightning]

do what tejon says and if those ideas fail...

bring on toliver, yum

oh, that's right. i'm a married lady

[Anna N]

I keep a small square of that rubbery shelf liner in the junk drawer and it works most of the time to grip the lid and the jar.

[Toliver]

do what tejon says and if those ideas  fail...

bring on toliver, yum 

oh, that's right. i'm a married lady

←

[chile_peppa]

Well, you can always take up weight training to build up that upper arm strength! Seriously, a few years ago, Parade magazine ran a profile of a woman who became a champion body builder in her seventies after taking some basic strengthening exercises after becoming a widow. Her reasoning: she did not want to become dependent on others to open her jars! I want to be just like her when I grow up...

[Hest88]

You've got to insert the point of a dinner knife between on the side of the jar between the jar and the lid. Pry enough to break the vacuum seal and voila, twist open.

That's what I do, but I use a small spoon.

Uh, don't use a pointy steak knife. Not that I've experienced the aftermath either, uh...

[s'kat]

I usually bang the side of the lid against something, like the floor, once or twice. The lid usually comes off quite easily.

If my husband is the kitchen, I let him do it.

[Cusina]

My brother bought me one of these things. Think he got tired of my handing jars off to him in the kitchen.

It really does work well. Leverage is a beautiful thing.

[Rachel Perlow]

Here's a link to buy that gadget:

KitchenAid Jar Opener

[ghostrider]

Go to your local annual street fair (in my town, it's on Labor Day) & go to the various political booths. They always seem to be handing out those textured rubber sheet (some circular, some rectangular) jar openers. Same as the rubbery shelf liner mentioned above, they make it easy to maintain your grip on the jar lid.

I have a drawer full of openers with the names of long forgotten candidates printed on them. They still open jars just fine.

Edited September 17, 2004 by ghostrider (log)

[Cusina]

Thanks Rachel, sorry, should have done that link myself.

[Smithy]

I generally hold the jar upside down and bang the lid flat on the counter instead of banging on the rim. If that doesn't work I have the rubber thingy to fall back on.

However, my best jar opener is cute AND works. No, you can't borrow him.

Edited September 17, 2004 by Smithy (log)

[Busboy]

Go to your local annual street fair (in my town, it's on Labor Day) & go to the various political booths.  They always seem to be handing out those textured rubber sheet (some circular, some rectangular) jar openers.  Same as the rubbery shelf liner mentioned above, they make it easy to maintain your grip on the jar lid.

I have a drawer full of openers with the names of long forgotten candidates printed on them.  They still open jars just fine.

←

I used to have one of those from a Libertarian candidate for some office or another. It read "get a grip on big government."

I take the big chef's knife and whack the edge of the lid with the blunt side. Works like a charm.

[saskanuck]

Did you guys know that those rubber thingies are called "rubber husbands"?

I also have a Starfrit jar key that opens things very well, although if they are the sealer ring type of lid, they don't work at all.

[chiquitalinda]

I use a bottle opener (instead of a knife or spoon) to break the vaccum and open the jar. Around our house, more often than not my husband comes to me with a stuck jar - he just doesn't have the patience to try for more than a second. I'm the one that usually gets a stubborn lid open

[Toliver]

My mom swears by this gadget:

The Jar Pop

It breaks the seal without having to use a knife to do so.

She liked it so much one Christmas she gave them as stocking stuffers to anyone and everyone she could.

They probably can be found at any Bed, Bath & Beyond-type store.

[Carrot Top]

Very nice responses! We came up with a total of ten ways to open a jar...and that number does not count either of the options of sending Toliver flying around the country to open jars OR the option of my becoming a lady body-builder! ('Becoming a lady body-builder' has actually been on my list of Things To Do for some time, but somehow it keeps slipping to the bottom of the list... )

My own method is to take the Chinese cleaver and whack the jar with the back of it. If that doesn't work, you must shriek out a number of obscenities in a certain order at the top of your lungs at it.

Sort of like the obscenities that one must also holler out when entering the West Side Highway on a Saturday evening from the Henry Hudson Parkway...in order to be taken seriously and let into the brawl that is called traffic.

Usually this incantation will work. It scares the jar into opening.

But you can't use this method with kids around....so I am glad of the other suggestions! Thanks!

P.S. Cusina, I loved the way that thing seemed to be flying right off the page. You have a talent for photography!

[bloviatrix]

Cusina hit on the real issue -- it's all about leverage. And if you have small hands you're stuck. For me, when I've tried banging the lid against the counter and the rubber grip hasn't worked (and there's no spouse around) my solution is.......the doorman.

This is why I live in a doorman building: they accept deliveries, buzz guests up and open stubborn jars.

[dougery]

Very timely topic for me,

I never thought I would encounter a jar I couldn't open, but at a BBQ the other day I ran into my match, a jar Sour Kraut! I tried whacking the lid with utensils, using the rubber disc, lightly banging it on a table, moist towels, nothing worked! then a young woman smiled, walked over to me, took the jar and whacked the lid lightly on the concrete and I heard the "pop" as the vacum released. She then handed the jar back and shook her head...

I don't know about whacking glass jars on concrete, but it taught me a valuable lesson in humility