How do you get the lid off a stuck spaghetti sauce jar?

[Tom Chick]

Let's say a guy has a jar of spaghetti sauce and the lid just won't unscrew? I can't very well just put, I dunno, butter on my pasta. How gross would that be?

-Tom

[John Sansker]

One way I've heard to get a better grip on the lid is to wrap a rubber band around it and then try unscrewing it.

If that doesn't work, I'd go old school bottle opener on it, the kind that's pointy on one end and rounded on the other.

Puncturing the top might release the pressure enough to allow it to be opened normally.

Then, depending on what your counter tops are made of you could try wedging the lid against the counter top and striking downward with your hand to pop it off.


If all else fails...there are very few personal problems that can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives.

[Lamalo]

Or not being a little girl could help.

[Talisker]

Strap wrench.

[Raife]

Lately I've been using a circle saw because it's so viscerally rewarding, and if you can't handle some glass chunks in your spaghetti, you're a wuss. However, when dining with non glass-eating wusses, I use the hot water method.

[jerri blank]

Tap around the edge of the lid with the handle of a butter knife.

Or explosives.

[Rob_Merritt]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/311GS3F2C0L._SS500_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-JW200B-Lids-Opener/dp/B0000ZI1JC/ref=pd_sim_k_5

I have one and use it all the time.

[cliffski]

if the jar is small, open a door. insert the head of the jar between the open door and the door frame so it grips it.
with one arm, hold the door taut, with the other arm, twist.

Been there, Done that :D

[Chuck]

Turn it upside down, smack the lid hard with palm of your hand, turn it upright, then back over, then repeat for three times. This usually works. Also, check for the presence of rust once you've removed the lid.

[Nixxter]

I can't very well just put, I dunno, butter on my pasta. How gross would that be?

-Tom

If all else fails, make brown butter spaghetti. It's not gross at all, though it might kill you in either its deliciousness or cholesterol. Still, I figure our systems can handle it once in a while.

Basically, once you have the spaghetti ready, brown the butter. If you aren't much of a cook (like me, though I do a few deadly dishes well), be careful browning it because it goes over from where you want it to burnt very quickly, so pay attention.

Use enough butter to liberally coat the pasta. Medium heat (or even a little higher). Basically, you are controlling the heat yourself by picking up the pan and agitating it across the face of the burner (or picking it up entirely if it is getting too hot) and rolling the butter around in it and also stirring the butter pretty rapidly too, to prevent burning. I use a fork to stir it, though that can't be good for the pan. You need it to actually get brown where you can see brown sediment in it but don't leave it untended for even a few seconds on the burner. If you don't go far enough, you end up with melted butter which is kind of gross. Experiment and try not to set yourself on fire!

For an added nutty taste and +50 cholesterol boost, once plated, add in quite a bit of shaken parmesan, it binds to the butter and pumps the general nuttiness.

Bon apetit!

For the jar, you could of course run your water until hot and then run it around the rim of the jar to see if the heat expands/loosens the seal to where you can twist it off with your super hero biceps!

[Brad Grenz]

Last time I had a serious problem we had this little round floppy rubber circle thing that helps you get a better grip. Once I give that a try I never have too much trouble. But I don't know where that is anymore and it's been years since I've had a problem.

[Cosmic Hippo]

Take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[krayzkrok]

Ludicrous solutions always work best. My tip is to smear the edge of the lid with blood, present to a suitably large crocodile, and let it grab just the lid. As it performs a death roll, it'll spin that lid right off. WARNING: This method is not recommended for those with a nervous disposition.

[Skipper]

Tom, how can you even ask this question? It's already been answered on this very forum. What you need is a "Handjob!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd1hqcbEuMM

[Pishtaco]

Use a flat screwdriver to lever the lid away a little bit so that the pressure equalizes.

If that fails, pour boiling water on the lid (but not the jar) for the heat expansion to help loosen it or something.

Also, wear rubber gloves.

[Traumahound]

Have you tried simply running it under scalding hot water for awhile? That'll help breakdown anything that might be making the lid stick and it'll cause the lid to expand slightly.

I've never had this not work.

Edit: Errr, yeah, what he said.

[hong]

I'm still partial to the crocodile suggestion.

[Raife]

I'm not completely convinced krok hasn't done it that way.

[hong]

I imagine the torque a crocodile can generate would have to be at least 100 times that of a wussy door or pipe wrench. It all makes sense.

[jason]

What you want to do is dig a hole in your yard, at least 4 feet deep and probably 1 foot by 1 foot for the other dimensions. Fill it with cement, place the jar half in the top of the cement block and let it set. Then wrap a chain around the lid, attach the chain to your car, and drive away. The cement should hold the jar while the chain turns the lid.

Enjoy!

[red guy]

If it's stuck because of dried pasta sauce around the edges: dispose of jar. Serve pasta with olive oil, garlic, capers, and grated cheese.

I wouldn't advise you to drill a hole through the glass or the lid, because then you'd be left with sauce containing glass or metal.

[Acid]

http://ineedahandjob.com/Handjob/Order.html

[lesslucid]

Give someone else the opportunity to show how tough they are by opening it for you. This will awaken their competitive spirit, at which point they will go to any lengths to succeed.

[Hans Lauring]

Give someone else the opportunity to show how tough they are by opening it for you. This will awaken their competitive spirit, at which point they will go to any lengths to succeed.

That works best if they really want to sleep with you.

[Cosmic Hippo]

You could also get a cat. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZVMT-fsJQg&feature=related)

[Bad Neighbor]

Serve pasta with olive oil, garlic, capers, and grated cheese.

Haven't tried capers as the main flavor in a sauce before. It sounds worth trying, maybe with a little lemon juice. The best pasta without sauce recipe I've had has got to be olive oil and truffles.

Edit: give the lid a bit of a whack on the counter.

[arctangent]

http://jimala.com/jaropener.jpg

[Creole Ned]

I would use one of TomChick's random questions to open the jar.

Or my first grade teacher.

[Bill Dungsroman]

Oil filter wrench, bitches!

[Reldan]

Take a butter knife and hit the edge of the lid 2-3 times with the blunt edge of the knife. Spread the hits around, and just hard enough to leave a slight indentation in the lid. This should loosen the lid just enough to twist it off by hand.

[Brendan]

Break the vacuum by inserting a sturdy kinife between the lid and glass of the jar and twisting it so the rim of the lid moves away from the jar. It should open pretty easily.

[Mister Widget]

It's been suggested already above, but the simpler solutions are best. Get your tap water as hot as it goes, hold and rotate the jar lid under the stream for 30 seconds, dry off the jar with a towel, and it will open easily.

[noun]

Go down to the street and ask random people to open it for you. The one who succeeds will be the One True King.

[Eric Majkut]

I always try the tapping thing first. If that doesn't work, then elbow grease combined with a wash cloth for grip usually does the trick. Maybe it's just my Herculean strength :P

[Douglas]

Heat, the enemy of tightness. (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbml3z_the-increasingly-poor-decisions-of_shortfilms)

[Lunch of Kong]

Hold the lid over a heat source so that the metal expands.

[Brendan]

The question is why is an awesome guy like Tom eating spaghetti and sauce out of a jar on Christmas eve? :(

You're welcome to come eat some gammon and roast potatoes if you can get your ass down to Casa da Brendan in the next two hours.

[Lamalo]

If all else fails, you could always find somebody's five year old daughter to open it for you.

[arakyd]

Lots of ways to do it, most of which have been mentioned. I've generally used the tap method, probably because it usually seems to work and is quicker and easier than heating the lid.

The other option is to make guacamole sauce instead of resorting to butter. But every time I've eaten spaghetti with guacamole, it mostly just reminds me why the Italians went with tomatoes.

[sinfony]

The best way to get the lid off a stuck spaghetti sauce jar is to go to the store, buy a couple of steaks and some good beer, come home, grill up the steaks, crack open the beer, and have yourself a good evening. Throw the spaghetti sauce in the garbage, or at a home invader, or an unpopular politician. It has no higher use.

[Drastic]

Lots of people recommend the running hot water solution, but I suspect that's mostly a kind of placebo. The real solution is to get a good grip and twist as hard as you can. Maintain that pressure, take a deep breath, invoke Crom, and then twist even harder. When Crom is pleased with your jar battle, nine times out of ten the stuck lid will pop right off as he gives you more strength.

[Athryn]

I actually have a little gadget for it, it looks like a bottle opener but it basically does the same trick as the sticking the knife and prying the lid, with the added benefit of not screwing up my silverware. :P

[walTer]

I have used the rubber band trick for years. Although, I do prefer the grill a steak and drink a beer suggestion.

[Demon G Sides]

Lets see, usually I just take a knife and knock the lid a few times, which messes up it's perfect roundness.

[Miramon]

Of course heat works quite well, as everyone has noted, because the metal lid expands more than the glass jar wall, but sometimes heat isn't at hand.

If the problem is just that the vacuum seal is greater than your hand strength, all you have to do is break the seal somehow. One easy way is just to pry up the lip of the lid a tiny bit with the nearest strong metal object that fits in the gap -- of course a screwdriver is ideal, but plenty of other random objects from keys to knives will work.

[Sarkus]

Let's say a guy has a jar of spaghetti sauce and the lid just won't unscrew? I can't very well just put, I dunno, butter on my pasta. How gross would that be?

-Tom

Tom's cooking spaghetti at 3AM?

My bar hopping theory evidence is getting stronger by the day!

:-)

[snowcrash22]

True story. I learned how to do this from The Cosby Show

edit: a blend of the tap and slap methods already posted in greater clarity than I was abel to provide

Results. One jar lid that can be opened by the weakest of men.

[Wholly Schmidt]

If the lid won't budge, I just turn the jar instead.

[nife2o4]

Loosening a jar lid is easy. Simply invite over a group of people, it's even better if they are competitive. Give the stuck jar to the biggest, toughest person there and let them struggle with it for 5-10 minutes. Then have them give it to the smallest person there. By the universal laws of humor, the lid will pop right open.

[merryprankster]

Lately I've just been making Manacoti or Baked Ziti which uses the whole jar of sauce, neatly avoiding the problem. If you can't open a jar fresh from the market you should probably be reading one of the workout threads, not this one.

(Caveat: unless you've recently developed a bar habit and gotta have pasta and sauce at 2am, in which case one of those rubber grippies works well)

[Bad Neighbor]

So Tom, how did you open the jar of sauce? Or did you?

[Rimbo]

Hold the lid under hot water for a minute. Since glass is an insulator and metal a conductor of heat, it'll expand faster than the jar, making it easier to remove.

[Houngan]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/311GS3F2C0L._SS500_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-JW200B-Lids-Opener/dp/B0000ZI1JC/ref=pd_sim_k_5

I have one and use it all the time.

What does your boyfriend use?

H.

p.s. I mean, come on. How could I not?

[magnet]

It's very simple. Heat up a tablespoon of oil in a regular pan, put the spaghetti sauce jar in the pan with the oil, add some tomatoes and garlic, wait a few minutes, stir, and then discard the spaghetti sauce jar.

[Demon G Sides]

I was gonna advocate just smashing the jar into a bowl and then eat your way around the glass shards, but that'd take too much time/effort so just eat the glass with the sauce.

[Staff Sergeant]

I was gonna advocate just smashing the jar into a bowl and then eat your way around the glass shards, but that'd take too much time/effort so just eat the glass with the sauce.

Strainer

[sinfony]

Strainer
This is why God gave you teeth.

[Aleck]

Lift the edge of the jar with a knife or similar implement to equalize the pressure. That's the easy way.

The manly way is to have a jar gripper mounted on the wall which allows you to use both hands to apply as much force/torque as possible. This is manly because of the danger of the jar exploding into glass shards while in your bare hands.

[Ephraim]

Little did I know that Qt3 would be such an informative site in the event of jar emergency.

I personally just give up when this happens to me. Toss that puppy.

[jpinard]

Last time I had a stuck lid I was going back and forth between hot water and carefully smashing the lid level on the kitchen floor... it broke.

OK, Tom don't leave us hanging in suspense. Did your cat get it open for you?

Also, as long as you can spend the entire next day in the bathroom, Tons 'o Butter + Parmeson Cheese is simply divine. But you've got to do it right... like 6 tablespoons of creamed butter per serving.

[bago]

Twist?

[Sarkus]

Guys, it's been almost 48 hours since Tom made that post. He either got the lid off or died trying.

Either way, it wasn't that important to him really since he hasn't bothered posting in the thread since.

;-)

[bloo]

Tons 'o Butter + Parmeson Cheese is simply divine.

Also known as "Alfredo Sauce".

[Jon Rowe]

Take the sweat from the underarms of Jim Belushi.

That shit is like crazy glue.

[JPR]

Like some people said earlier, I have a gadget (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004OCIV/ref=asc_df_B00004OCIV992562?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=googlecom09c9-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B00004OCIV) for this. That's not exactly what I have, but it's pretty close.

[Sarkus]

Take the sweat from the underarms of Jim Belushi.

That shit is like crazy glue.

I don't want to know how it is you know the adhesive properties of Jim Belushi's underarm sweat.

[Lake]

Listen to the people who suggested tapping on the lid or running it under hot water.

[Siren]

Also known as "Alfredo Sauce".

Alfredo sauce also requires cream.

[Jupiter Jones]

Left to my own devices, I would try to twist it off with a dry hand towel. My mom used to have this really cool device from the 60's that you would attach to the top of a jar, then twist the handle to remove the lid. I've never found one of those, so the towel is my only solution.

[Not One Of Us]

I would try to twist it off with a dry hand towel.

That's the answer, you pussies.

[ElGuapo]

Lame. Literally I would just use a massive amount of force to twist it off, Carl Weathers style.

[Shadari]

Yeah right fratboy, I bet you can barely bench your bodyweight.

[Siren]

I ask someone else to open it for me.

[willk0]

Look, it's simple if you use physics: thermodynamics tells us that entropy is always increasing, so just wait until the heat death of the universe occurs and the jar will be open.

[Marcus]

Larry, my next door neighbor came to my house last week with this exact same problem. Larry is a pretty big guy but he for the life of him could not get the lid off this particular jar. It was a jar of Newmans own if I recall correctly that bares the big smiling face a Paul Newman taunting you to try and open the jar to get to his goods. Larry brought me this jar with almost tears in his eyes and said to me "I've been trying for an hour to get this damn lid off! I'm starving and now the pasta is cold you have to help me."

I took the jar from Larry looked Paul straight in the face and gave him the old fuck you eye. I grabbed a towel from the kitchen drawer and wrapped it tightly around the lid. I was sure I was smothering poor Paul but he can go fuck him self at this point as he is keeping a friend from eating. Once the towel was wrapped around the lid I felt I had sufficient enough grip and I gave the lid a turn and the old familiar pop was heard. Larry's face lit up with joy has he now could enjoy his pasta.

[Zylon]

Wrong thread, Marcus (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=49270).

[Strollen]

Heat works sometimes as does tapping, but for the worse big ass jars. Costco gallon artichokes. I take them into my fitness instructor and ex-body builder, problem solved.

[seventimessix]

Look we should all know by now that running the lid under hot water is the only surefire way to get the lid off, but if the simple method bores you you can always take a chef's knife and whack it against the side of the jar. Just watch out for the shards of glass in your sauce.

[Equis]

Liking all these answers really, but I'm still wondering why Tom wouldn't like butter on his pasta. It's delicious! and French!

For my money, I'd probably drill a hole through the lid and insert a pump, that way my sauce jar can act like a ketchup bottle as well.

[ElGuapo]

Yeah right fratboy, I bet you can barely bench your bodyweight.


Barely? I can't even come close to benching my bodyweight, I bet.

[Kalle]

Looks like my preferred solution of breaking the vacuum seal by bending the lid edge with a knife has already been posted.

[Shadari]

Barely? I can't even come close to benching my bodyweight, I bet.
Heh, I was just trying to push your buttons since I know you're making a weightroom. ;)

[ddtibbs]

Low-yield tactical nuclear weapons. Pops the lid and insta-cooks the sauce in one shot.

[Shadari]

And the collateral damage is little more than well-toasted garlic bread to go with your main course.

[Arioch]

Linguini with butter... mmh. Sorry, what was the question?

[WarrenM]

Tons 'o Butter + Parmeson Cheese is simply divine.
I'm trying to think of any food that tons of butter and cheese wouldn't make taste better. That's sort of a cooking cop out. :) Like deep frying...

[Deadbuffalo]

Look Tom, if you're going to post these threads and not even bother telling us the conclusion of the story, then you need to find a better forum for communicating. Did you get the lid off or not? There are ton of good responses and a few really good responses involving hammers and broken glass, how did this play out? Or did you just eat your pasta without sauce in shame.

[OrfBC]

Let it go, Tom. Just get a new jar.

[Rorschach]

Looks like it only took a few posts for this thread to go off the rails.

[wahoo]

Last night got back from Holidays and reached for the old standby of Ragu. Was stuck so I used one fo those rubber stickes to get a better grip. Then performed my man of the household duties to have it work and unlock it.

[Griddle]

Just saying...
http://www.ericscheske.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Stick-dynamite-fuse-burning.jpg

[Pogo]

Did anyone call Tom a big vagina yet for not being able to open a jar lid with his bare hands?

[Zylon]

Looks like it only took a few posts for this thread to go off the rails.
This thread never went off the rails. It did, however, go to plaid.

[LionelThompson]

In the week that it's taken Tom to try and pry off the lid, he could have made his own sauce a hundred times over. No jars required, just a simple can or two to open.

[Griddle]

In the week that it's taken Tom to try and pry off the lid, he could have made his own sauce a hundred times over. No jars required, just a simple can or two to open.
But how in the blazing hell do you get the infernal cans open??!??!??!? DAMNIT!

[Zylon]

But how in the blazing hell do you get the infernal cans open??!??!??!? DAMNIT!
With the shards from shattered spaghetti sauce jars.

[Griddle]

With the shards from shattered spaghetti sauce jars.
Brilliant!

Now... time to figure out this damnable spoon, may the gods give me the knowledge to go on, DAMN YOU MAN-MADE EATING UTENSILS!!!

[Blackadar]

Easy. You beat your wife with the jar until it opens.

[Griddle]

Easy. You beat your wife with the jar until it opens.
Well, my Ex-Wife is kind of soft and fleshy, I suppose I could use her head until it caves in.

[Zylon]

Well, my Ex-Wife is kind of soft and fleshy, I suppose I could use her head until it caves in.
What are your thoughts on Star Wars?

[Griddle]

That made me giggle.

[bloo]

I'm now of the theory there never was a spaghetti sauce jar, stuck lid or otherwise.

[Acid]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but I only have a moment. The grammar of Tom's question indicates that the JAR is stuck, not the lid. Perhaps the jar got stuck to the counter? Does Tom clean his counters? Maybe the lid has been off the whole time, but he can't pour the sauce out because the jar is stuck!

[shift6]

I'm with Acid. I thought Tom had bought a jar of "stuck spaghetti" sauce and I was all "is stuck spaghetti some kind of noodle variant like sticky rice?"

[CheesyPoof]

Let's say a guy has a jar of spaghetti sauce and the lid just won't unscrew? I can't very well just put, I dunno, butter on my pasta. How gross would that be?

-Tom

Forget it, Tom. It's Little Italy.

[Tom Chick]

Liking all these answers really, but I'm still wondering why Tom wouldn't like butter on his pasta. It's delicious! and French!

For my money, I'd probably drill a hole through the lid and insert a pump, that way my sauce jar can act like a ketchup bottle as well.

This.

-Tom

[fire]

This.

-Tom

Which? The butter, or the drill? Or both?

[Brendan]

First put the martini glass down.