Maybe I got lucky and this was a one off and I've checked Google - and nothing.
As before grip the lid with all your force, using whatever additional help may be needed tea towel, rubber glove etc.
Then take hold of the jar in the other hand
And er, turn the jar.
You can always get a better grip on a glass jar simply with the width of your hand, given which it seems to make more sense to turn the jar rather than the lid. Which still needs to be gripped firmly, but not turned at the same time.
Indeed. That's one of the many methods recommnded on the net.
The point about my approach is that you don't need to take any additional measures - you carry on doing what you were doing before, only the other way round. Basically you can exert more turning force using the width of your hand on the glass than you can trying to concentrate all of your force in trying to turn a relatively narrow lid, Obviously the forces exerted by each hand balance only one is held rigid and the other exerts turning force
So they all work better than simply turning jar instead, do they ?
I mean I don't know. I've always turned the lids, but my recent experience suggests that maybe I along with everyone else it seems has been doing it wrong all along. As there's nothing that readily comes up on Google about turning the jar instead.
The only problem is, I don't really want to go round opening jars of stuff I don't need to open right now, hopefilly jars with really tight lids, just to find out if it was a one-off or not.
Or if its a new jar of jam, simply press the little raised bit in the middle and you can hear a fizz, then it comes off a lot easier as you are not fighting the weight of the atmosphere grin. Brian
Most of these things tend to assume the jar won't turn when you use them. Never did work that one out.
I take a tight one to the workshop. Support it in the woodwork vice - not tight, obviously - and use a couple of strap wrenches, one to stop the jar turning, one to turn the lid. Most do open with Marigolds, though. ;-)
I've done it that way for as long as I can remember. As you say, much easier than trying to turn the lid. The same applies when opening champagne bottles without wanting to have the cork fly off - hold the cork firmly and slowly rotate the bottle. The gentle pop is less dramatic, but you don't lose any of the champagne.
On a few occasions I've used a small nail* to put a hole in the lid and release the vacuum.
Obviously this only works on things which are going to be consumed quickly where the jar is not needed to reclose, although a blob of insulation tape* can close the hole for a few days.
*I'm sure /we/ all have such things in our kitchens.
For commercial jar lids, you use a can opener, the one with the triangle pointy bit on it, stick the pointy bit under the edge of the jar lid. Apply a distorting force, pulling the jar edge away from nominal position. This will break the seal and allow you to turn it with ease.
Example of the can opener. The pointy end fits under the edge of the jar lid. The rolling radius of where the pointed part is bent, presses against the glass of the jar, while you apply force. That's the fulcrum.
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Only apply enough force to distort the lid so that the vacuum seal is defeated, not enough to permanently damage the jar top and ruin it for home projects.
A second method, is to strike the jar lid (one side) with the palm of your hand. This too can break the seal, but is a much less effective technique and not recommended. You strike the jar lid with heel of hand, then revert to unscrewing the lid and see if it's let go. There were some jars where this would work, and others where it took too many strikes to achieve a result.
The triangle can opener always works, because you can just destroy the lid if so desired :-) Using the palm of your hand, if you strike it hard enough, you can take a chip out of the glass.
With arthritis in my hands, I find it more difficult to grip jars and screw-top bottles tightly, so I use one of these under-kitchen-cabinet things.
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Makes it very easy. The design is donkey's years old - my mother had one, all metal and rather more substantial than the plastic ones here, but hey! they work.
Must try one of those. One day in a fit of pique I ordered one of every type of jar opener available with free postage from China. ( when bored I like to surf ebay for small items from China with free postage. Items that are so cheap postage would preclude buying them from Amazon) Anyway they were all useless
We find that opening a 2 lb jar of marmalade is a two person job. The other half grips the jar with two hands and I grip the lid with two hands.
If she's not around, I have to resort to using Magnus[1] which is similar to
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and which we got from a charity shop for next to nothing. It can generate a lot or torque, but tends to slip off jars whose lids have sloping edges unless pressed firmly down while it's operating.
[1] Called Magnus "I've started so I'll finish" because it whirs away for long after the lid is off, to get back to its rest position.
I've 2 of these; one is a bit longer than the standard jar opener but is still OK for removing the shroud from a tap (the shrouds on my taps are lightly lubed and finger tight) and the other somewhat bigger. Never needed them for jars as I've developed a couple techniques for opening even a tough 2 lb jar. In addition to the warming etc. mentioned up-thread, I'll let others have a go (warms and squeezes the lid a bit), hold the bottom of the jar so that axial force can be used (takes a bit of the pre-load off the thread) and have straight arms down between legs as the wrists are better able to cope. Also 'attack' it, after getting the feel for it as the shock loading is high. Mind, getting to the age...!
'er indoors had most varieties and still can't always manage. I introduced her to strap wrenches. But even those (including ones designed for kitchens) fail for her - and for me too! - on some jars where designers have decided the sides of the lids need to slope.
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