If you cook, or know someone that does, you’ve seen it. The face contortions, the grunting, the jar pressed against the stomach in an effort to muster that last bit of torque. I’m of course talking about stubborn jars that just won’t twist open. It happened tonight as Gansie was preparing dinner. Sitting in the living room, it of course was my duty to help out with jar opening. After getting past the inevitable whining that she has to ask a guy to help, she handed me the roasted red peppers. With a wry, knowing smile, I took the jar to show my masculinity. Two minutes later, all that was left of me was a throbbing arm. My dignity had long since departed.
I had to recover. Over the mocking comments from Gansie, I went for the rubber hot pad. This would give much more grip, I reasoned. Try as I might, nothing.
Next up, desperation. The synapses in my brain fired, at most, three times and decided that if I popped a hole in the top of the lid, it would break the suction. After much hammering with a fork and then knife, I was left with a dented aluminum top, but no peppers.
Then it hit me. I remembered what my mom used to do when I was young: slam the side of the lid on the floor. So after a couple of hits on a granite tile, an amazing thing happened. The freaking thing opened up like Tom Cruise on Oprah.
Here’s a pic of the damage to the lid:
I suppose the dent accomplished what I was trying to do with the knife and fork, release the suction.
If you are still reading this (no offense if you checked your email instead), what other tricks of the trade are out there? I’ve also heard that running a jar under hot water works. But I am sure there are tons of tricks that people know of. Comment away…
