A while back my doctor thought that changing my snack routine from chocolate and ice-cream to salsa on pita bread may be helpful. I have never really paid much attention to salsa outside of mexican restaurants but remembered it fondly so bought a jar and some pita bread. I could not get the lid off the jar. I tried rubber gloves for grip, hot water to ease the seal, a knife to get some air in. Oh sure, I eventually got there but it was very hard work indeed. Given my neighbours bring me their hard jars to open this was a little odd but I put it down to one dud jar.
Once I got it opened I decided I loved the combination so now eat it regularly for lunch. Each and every jar in my sample size of four has been a horror. It seems to make no difference whether it is refrigerated or not or what brand or what size, the lids just will not budge without me drawing upon all my powers and tricks. I do not get this with jars of jam or relish or beetroot, why is it happening with salsa?
At least now I understand my doctor’s true motives, I burn more kilojoules opening the jar than I could possibly ingest in salsa and pita bread. At least chocolate has tearable paper and foil, icecream an easily lifted lid. If wanted my healthy food to be this hard I would peel a carrot or something.
Here is the solution to your problem. If necessary, use two - one on the lid, one on the jar. It’s simply a matter of increasing your torque so that you can apply the necessary force.
It’s funny, but i generally find that salsa jars are about the hardest jars to open that i’ve ever some across. I buy two or three different brands from Trader Joe’s and my local market, and the lids on all of them are as tough as a sonofabitch.
What you need is one of these. You just slip the lower jaw under the bottom ridge of the jar lid, and press the top of the popper against the top of the lid. This breaks the vacuum seal of the jar.
If the vacuum seal is the problem (rather than overtightening of the lid), just poke through the lid with a push-pin. Then, tape over the hole to keep the nasty microbes out.
If the problem is overtightening, the strap-wrench will work great. If the lid is small enough, you can use channel-lock pliers, too. Or, if you’re completely insane, you can get this $40 appliance which apparently does nothing but remove jar lids. In fairness, the appliance might be handy for, say, elderly people, people with arthritis, or people with motor control impairment, but if you’re young and healthy, go with the strap wrench.
Basically any old bottle opener will work (the kind you use to open non-twist off beer). Personally, I prefer the ones that have a pointy end. All you have to do is stick the pointed end in between the lid and the jar (on most lids, there’s a little space you can find), and push the opener down toward the jar. You hear the seal pop, the jar opens like a dream. I recently just taught my grandma this same trick.
I have been doing that with a knife on them. My old house had an ancient piece of triangle hardware affixed to the underside of overhead cupboards that you would slide a jar or bottle of any size into and twist to remove the lid. I never needed the damned thing. I usually do not need knives or strip wrenches or bottle openers or pins or hot water or rubber gloves to get lids off, I have strong hands and wrists.
There is something sinister about salsa. I want to know what it is. I know nothing a doctor recommends should taste nice so I suspect there is something really unholy going on as the stuff does indeed taste good. If I can get the lid off fat free mayo (only to put it back on for immediate disposal, ugh) I should be able to get it off salsa.
It may be a plot to disable us all physically and emotionally and my doctor is in on it :eek:
Yup, jigsaw back where it belongs. You know, I never did think of power tools, one hole saw attached to the drill and no more problems, dip straight into the jar.
I am not sure if Old El Paso has been in my sample, I will remember that for next shop, it will be a while though as the Doritos brand was on sale this morning though so I have stocked up on those. I know they hate me but they were cheap.
Don’t trust those things, they are evil. See, my mom got one after I left the house. One time I went to visit. And was attempting to open a jar of carmel syrup for my ice cream. Now the high sugar content of carmel syrup can create a bond with strength approximating an arc-welder. Having tried every method possible I was still facing the horror of naked ice cream. My mom suggested I use the triangle thing. So I wedged the lid into place and got a good two handed grip in one last ditch effort to open the golden treasure. I started applying effort fibre of muscle in my hands arms and shoulders into twisting the bottle. Then the fucking jar broke.
It ripped the hell out of my hands, and left a syrup, glass shard, and blood emusion all over the kitchen. By the time I got to my ice cream it was not only naked, it was half melted, not to mention the carmel I could smell all over the house, but couldn’t eat.
Perhaps you could try them?