Hard to remove lids cheeses me off

Why do they make heavy duty ring pulls on tiny tins of salmon etc? You almost need a grinder to remove the lid. Even though my old trusty hand can opener can’t budge the dam thing.

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So much with you on these hard to open things with ring pull tabs. In my case cat food cans and on things like bottles of ginger beer.

And what about the heat-shrunk near invisible plastic that you have to remove before you can even open some containers.

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You can use a spoon to open a ring pull can.

There’s videos on YouTube.

This one is not in English but you don’t need to understand the language to view the video.

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I use that technique with a spoon sometimes. But first you need a knife to raise the ring pull enough to get the spoon handle into the ring.

Vacuum sealed jars. Some impossible to twist open. Solution. Sharp pointed knife to make a small hole in the lid and hey presto, easy to open. If the jar needs to be resealed for storage in the fridge, then a bit of tape over the small hole.

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Don’t let spores and microbes in to feast on your food, the lid still has a function after the seal is broken the first time. A better way is to knock the edge of the lid on something solid that will not do harm, such as a cutting board. Do this all the way around the lid and then you will be able to open it much more easily.

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A jar opener is far more efficacious and doesn’t ruin the lid.
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Available from a wide variety of sources for about $7.

They crack the vacuum.

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My son has a firm of Muscular Dystrophy and he would struggle with the wide-mouthed salsa jars from Doritos. We wrote to them mentioning weak hands, arthritis etc and they sent back a jar lever. They’re cheap, available in kitchen shops and places like kmart. We liked it so much that when he moved into a flat to live independently, we bought our own.

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Excellent suggestion. Looks like the Avanti Jar Opener tool, which can also come in a set with a Ring-pull Can Hook:

Avanti Jar Opener and Can Hook set

The set is currently on special at $7.17 from Harris Scarfe.

Mind you, the spoon in the video posted earlier does a pretty good job as a ring-pull can hook. :+1:

Another simple jar opener aide is a piece of non-slip drawer liner / mat underlay large enough to overlap the lid on all sides. It gives you a better grip, which is sometimes all that’s needed. Also handy for those confounded battery covers that slide sideways … if you can just get enough of a grip on them.

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I will look out for those nifty devices.
:+1:

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Somewhat ot but an older related topic

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The easiest way to open vacuum sealed jars, is to use an old type tin and screw cork opener. Just put the hook under the edge of the lid and lift the opener up to pull the edge of the lid out slightly. This should release the vacuum without harming the resealing of the jar…

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Maybe it is the easiest if you have those tools.

I find wooden spoons easiest for such a task. They are strong and the thickness offers extra stability.

Wind a rubber band around the lid several times to improve your grip. In fact one trick is to use your dominant hand to hold the glass jar while turning the lid with the weaker hand; often it is our inability to hold the jar tightly that is the problem. Another is to wear rubber gloves to increase traction.

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A couple of taps on a thick bread board whilst rotating jar always works for me. My other half pushes a butter knife under the rim to break the vacuum seal, works every time

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