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The jars I am thinking of are the vintage ones with glass lids and rubber sealing rings with a metal or plastic locking ring although I expect the same problem would happen with modern jars

When the fruit is bottled a vaccum is formed so when the locking ring is removed the whole jar can be picked up by the lid. The thing is, how to get the lid off safely?

Prising it off with a knife is not recommended

run lid under hot water for a while normal dose the trick

I believe the reason the rubber seal has a tab is so you can pull said tab till the seal is broken

Indeed, give the tab on the rubber ring a good tug and you'll be fine - OH struggled for ages with one till I showed him how to do it ;)

The vintage ones don't have a tab, it would obstruct the locking ring

I did try running it under a hot tap but it didn't budge. The only thing I can think of is to take the locking ring off and then stand the jar in hot water to increase the pressure inside.

I have alot of vintage jars frm clearing my parents house. They were used b my mother in the 1960s but I just can't remember how she used to open them!

Thank the gods they finally invented the tab

Ah, mine are all tab'ed ones, am quite thankful of this :) Good luck with yours, think the warm water option is the best idea as even normal jars can be difficult when they've come out of our larder cupboard which is rather on the cold side at this time of year and I've had to warm those plenty of times.

I do have some of the spring clip lid ones but they are full of relish!

The other type have a glass lid with a rubber sealing ring plus a locking ring or a metal disc lid with a locking ring. A vaccum or low pressure forms inside the jar during bottling thus sealing it, but the lid or disc has nothing to get hold of to get it off.

There must be a trick as they've been around a long time!

I think next time I'll try warm the whole jar in hot water.

I once saw a type of wrench device - a plastic strap or maybe fabric that you tightened to grip the lid then used the lever to apply force.

Did you ever manage to get the lid off?

The hot water idea is to make the jar expand and the lid stay as it is. Warm the jar, but not the lid.

Not that I've ever had to do it. Not that I even own a Kilner jar. Just a busybody, that's me.

Mike

The modern ones with a metal disc instead of glass are a doddle, just take them off with a bottle opener. That's the bottle opener you usually find on the other end of a beer can opener.
Doesn't work so well with a cork screw though

My parents used to have a couple of those. I'm afraid it's a slide the tip of a knife under the rubber and twist job.

Green Aura wrote:My parents used to have a couple of those. I'm afraid it's a slide the tip of a knife under the rubber and twist job.

Haha, yep mine too, takes me back, there's no easy way without fiddling with a knife.


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The metal locking rings I know work quite well - you kind of open the locking mechanism and use it to lever the top off (against the top part of the metal ring). Probably doesn't make sense unless you see it.

The German equivalent we used at home didn't have any locking rings - just the rubber ring, and always with tab! And once the ring got old and somewhat brittle, the tabs tended to disintegrate first (because of repeated pulling), and then it was back to hot water and sharp knives, too...