How NOT to open a jar.

I admit that occasionally (ok..quite often), I cannot get the lid off of a jar.  My hands just do not want to work as well as they did back in the day when I was much younger..and stronger.   I used to have no problem opening anything but all of that has changed as I have aged.  Now, jar lids sometimes seem impossible to remove!  I have a solution to that problem though!  I call Michael! "Son..I need this jar of jelly opened!"  That said and the jar is magically opened!  This is the right way to open a jar..the wrong way can present untold problems.  I never realized just what a problem this could be until today.  I was washing canning jars to be reused.  These will be filled with the remaining hundred or so grapefruit that I am entirely too late in picking.  The jars needed to be thoroughly cleaned then sterilized before using.  I was doing well washing until...OUCH!..my finger was bleeding!  I had cut myself on the rim of a jar.

Obviously, whoever had last opened this jar did it the wrong way! Sure that lid might have been on a bit tight but there was no need to pound away at it with the blade of a knife!  I have seen this far too often.  Think about it..those little dents that are being smacked into the metal lid are also smacking the glass jar below.  This certain jar's rim was chipped but still intact.  When I ran a dishrag over it, the rim literally fell off leaving a jagged edge behind.  That is what cut me!  What worries me more than a superficial cut on my finger was the tiny bits of glass that must have been sprinkled into the food that the jar once held!  Those tiny slivers most likely were ingested by the knife-wielding hungry person that smacked the lid!  Those slivers might cause very bad things to happen to the innards of that person!  So...lesson learned...(I hope)..FOLKS...NEVER SMACK A JAR LID WITH A KNIFE BLADE OR ANY OTHER OBJECT!  There are much easier ways to remove a stuck lid without endangering your life!

One such easy way to remove a lid that is too tight is to use a rubber band.  Simply find a thick rubber band and place it around the jar lid.  This increases your grip and the lid should easily unscrew.  I have done this with ease even with my old, arthritic hands!  The only other safe way I have found to open a stuck lid is to run some hot water over the lid for a minute or so.  The lid will expand and slip off easily.  Both of these tricks work without damaging the jar or possibly contaminating your food with glass.  Still, the best way of opening those aggravating lids...find a young man to use brute force!  "MICHAEL....open this, please!"