I’ve struggled my entire life to open jars with twist-off lids. Peanut butter, salsa, pickles, you name it…I’m so excited to open these jars, but it’s almost never easy to do so. No joke: I’ve hurt my arm, elbow, and wrist when trying to open jars.
My parents taught me that the key is to tap on the lid with something metal (like a butter knife) and then to use something grippy to twist off the lid. This sometimes works, but not always. Megan will bang the lid on our metal sink, and that can help too.
Very recently, however, I found the way. I’ve tested it multiple times, and it works without strain, injury, or damage to the jar (or my kitchen).
The key that my parents were pointing me towards is that there’s a tight suction between the lid and the jar, and you need to release that pressure. That’s where all the advice about banging on the lid comes from.
But there’s a far better way to release the pressure: Simply take a sturdy butter knife and slide it into the gap between the lid and the jar. Wiggle it around until it finds purchase, then lever it so as to pry the lid away from the jar. You’ll hear a distinct “pop”, and with the pressure gone, you can unscrew the lid with minimal effort.
It’s one of those things–like the peanut butter hiccup cure–that I wish I had known years ago. But now I know, and so do you.
Do you have any tips or tricks for opening things that don’t want to open?
There’s a device for that! In our kitchen drawer we have a device that looks like a bottle opener, but it’s specifically to do exactly what you’re describing: releasing the pressure. You just put it on the side of the lid, you pull it up, you hear a click, and you open the jar.
Every jar is open in 3 seconds here. 🙂
Here’s a picture of the device, in different colours: https://cdn.webshopapp.com/shops/231629/files/167827790/500x500x2/bokaalopener-jarkey.jpg
We have one of those. Works like a charm.
That’s brilliant!
Thanks for the PB trick – it’s worked on me twice so far with 100% success rate. I’m very excited to share it at the next family gathering. It’s very interesting, because drinking water should activate the same nerve, but apparently not exactly the same way as eating something thick requiring muscle coordination.
I do the butter knife tapping I learned from Grandma and the knife prying I learned from my college roommate. We also have a thin piece of rubber cloth to grip the jar and multiple mechanical tools.
My trick might be specific to me…I use my non dominant hand to open the jar. If that doesn’t work, I repeat all the above, but with more crying, begging, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Never had a jar I couldn’t open.
I’m glad the trick is working so far!