What Items do You Struggle to Open?
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I’m having a rant so please bear with me. I was struggling trying to open the Lurpak soft butter, it was so tight I thought it can’t be just me surely. Then I got thinking about other food items that are difficult to open. Large milk where you have to tear off the foil top, cereal packets have to be delicately torn open so you can store in the cupboard. The list is endless, what items do you struggle with?
This is something that has often exasperated me, but at this very moment I can't thing of any! I will come back when the next thing I open drives me nuts!
You must be having a good day. I got so frustrated not being able to pull the top off the butter, I wanted to throw it but then realised I would have to repair and clean whatever it hit!
I find the best way to remove the foil that seals plastic milk bottles is to push something through it, usually a spoon or fork handle and lever it off.
The little tab usually just rips off.
Sometimes the plastic cap can be difficult to remove the first time, I find squeezing it to break the seal usually helps.
Yes I agree. I’ve pierced the milk foil with a sharp knife then spend time trying to peel it off.
Pjran You should find that if you push the flattish object to the far side of the bottle neck (under the foil), then push down on the part not through the foil it usually lifts the foil off in one piece. I don't attempt to do it any other way now.
Pickled onion jars can be really difficult to open the first time, if you've got a hard kitchen floor or work surface, banging the upside down jar (flat) onto the hard surface, a few times, breaks the seal and makes it easier to open. I sometimes tap around the top with a hammer (not too hard) to make them easier to open.
I find those under eye gel patches sooooo hard to open ..they are sealed super tight and I have to be very careful with the scissors as usually if I'm not precise..the gel eye patch gets torn 
Sometimes the vacuum sealed fish or meat from supermarkets are really hard to get out of the pack.
gerrykelly25 They can be very awkward - I've found the best way to deal with them is to cut all round with kitchen scissors, as close as possible to where the contents are, then peel off the plastic from the food.
davidstockport yes, that’s my technique. Once you can get a bit of air in, you are okay!
One that often gets me are the small tins of sardines. The ring pull lid will come half way off before putting up some resistance. A sharp pull on the lid to fully remove it will then result in the worktop, the floor or me getting a splattering of the tomato sauce from the tin. When the lid is finally off you still aren't safe as it is like a large razor blade.
Pjran Yes the little key can be a bit problematic. Some of the other ring pull cans too. I've often had the ring pull come off on my finger without the lid budging.
Jam jars like come on can you not tighten them soo much. 
End up having red hands and the stubborn lid is still firmly in place.
See my way of dealing with pickled onion jars above - it works on all kind of jars. I recall many years ago that you had to pierce the lid of a jam jar to release the vacuum - I'm not sure if that's still necessary.
(Just checked and if all else fails piercing the lid is perhaps the last resort)
davidstockport I find washing up gloves or a towel works wonders when trying to open jars, you get a better grip
lucyeva72 Quite true = some people will put an elastic band round the edge of the lid too, I have when wearing slippers taken one off and put the sole of the slipper over the lid of the jar.
Apparently (I've never tried) with a really stubborn lid, you can place the full jar (upside down) into some very shallow hot water for a few minutes, then try again. (it seems logical that it should work).
Any jars with a lid on, I struggle to open. I use thick elastic bands around the lid to give me some grip and this does the trick for opening the lid. 
SalmaS i use to have problems until I learnt that if you tap the side of the lid until you hear the pop it comes of easier
I'm dangerous in the kitchen, I'm always burning myself, so I won't be trying the hot water trick! 
I forgot about the elastic band one though
I don't think there's much danger in the hot water trick, just perhaps half an inch of hot water (not boiling) into the wahing up bowl should be enough. As said it is one of the last resorts, and logically serves two purposes: to melt anything sealing the lid on and expanding lid temporarily. "the thermal expansion coefficient of the metal is greater than that of the glass".
I got that last bit off Mr. Google (I'd remembered some of it from over 65 years ago - kind of knew it might come in handy one day)
Personally I hate the resealable meat packs, like cooked ham. They are usually so hard to get into when first opening, I make a mess of it and ruin the reseal part at the same time 
You’re absolutely right there. Anything wrapped in a container whether meal or fish I can never peel off the plastic top, out comes the knife.
I didn't know those resealable things on meat packs were even supposed to work, I thought they were a learning aid for those who wanted to learn how to swear.
I found it's easier to ignore them and just fold the packet over, sometimes with an elastic band to keep them closed. (sometimes they can be held closed with a plastic clothes peg).
davidstockport the learning aid to swearing definitely works here!
The trusty clothes peg is my go to most of the time too!
FG280 The uses for clothes pegs are innumerable, even when you break them you've still got two small wedges, they can even be used to attach laundry to a washing line.
A tip: if you want to make them stronger an elastic band firmly wrapped round the other end of where spring is, from where you squeeze, increases their grip.
I am aging but aren’t we all! It’s not an age thing, my children have the same issues.
You're right it isn't just an aging thing I have a grip stronger than most* (I can even still crush grapes) and often succeed where youngsters have failed.
* I was going to say: a grip stronger than a Scotsman on a ten bob note, but didn't want to upset anyone
Recently we had about jar of Olives, it took my husband ages to open it up.I think he gave up on more than one occasion
For me it's flavoured water, end up using my teeth
I'ts the only the odd one, it's only if the wrapping it in a few towel doesnt work 
Pjran
Sardines with the ring pull thingy are dreadful, I always get covered in the oil/sauce from the tin!
We have something called a jarkey which releases the seal on jars making opening them easy peasy. We also have one of those flat silicone things for bottle tops that seem to be glued on and leave grooves in your fingers!
Have you noticed that the plastic used to make milk containers and water bottles is thinner than ever now and that makes them hard to open as the bottle twists instead of providing sufficient resistance.
I have arthritis in my hands so pretty much struggle to open anything these days, so frustrating.
Due to arthritis most things. Fruit cartoons where you have to kinda pull and then push to open.
Oh I agree. Waitrose orange juice 1lt cartons that I buy I often spill trying to push the opener in ready to pour.
I understand it’s healthier to shrink wrap fruit and veg but why continue when we all should have less plastic waste???
I don't struggle open food a just cut it or stab it lol one thing I do hate is opening my kids toys OMG there so hard
Toys are well packaged so not to damage the contents but then you need to recycle all that packaging.
Drinks with the tiny little plastic pull tab around them such as Lucozade Sport bottles. I can never open those because they either break before I can pull them off when I do manage to get hold of them or I can’t get hold of them in the first place.
The last one I struggled with was a bottle of Listerene with a shrink wrapped lid which you have to somehow tear up the dotted line to release and then you have to squeeze the lid on the two tabs to actually twist open the lid. Double the trouble.
Those plastic push tabs on fruit juice cartons. Several we’ve had from Sainsbury’s have been misaligned so no one would have been able to open them, let alone a couple of pensioners! We complained but they are still often the same.
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