That time a stuck jar lid stole 20 minutes of my morning

I was trying to open a new jar of pasta sauce last Tuesday and the lid would not budge. I tried running it under hot water, tapping it on the counter, even using a rubber band for grip. Nothing worked for a solid 15 minutes. Finally I grabbed a butter knife and gently pried between the lid and the glass until I heard a small pop. The whole thing took maybe 20 seconds with the knife after all that struggle. I felt a little silly that I didn't think of it sooner. Has anyone else found a faster trick for stubborn lids that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kim12d ago

Used to think the rubber band trick was a myth honestly. But @hugog43 brought up something about denting the lid and that actually happened to me last month with a pickle jar. Hit it too hard on the counter and the lid got all warped and twisted. Never could get it open after that, had to toss the whole thing. The bottle opener idea sounds way smarter than what I've been doing. Gonna try that next time instead of smashing stuff.

hugog4312d ago

Ok, so you had the hot water trick fail on you too? That method is supposed to be the holy grail of stuck lids but sometimes it just doesn't work. I've actually started using a bottle opener - the kind with the little metal tab that you'd use for soda bottles. You just wedge it under the lid edge and pop it up a tiny bit to break the seal. Works way faster than a butter knife for me. Also I learned the hard way that hitting the lid on the counter can actually dent it and make it even harder to open later.