The “Incredible” Tool I Use to Open Tightly Sealed Jars in Seconds (More Than 2,000 Were Bought in the Past Month!)

As an adult, I always have a set of grippers in my kitchen. But when I recently bought new silicone ones and found they actually didn’t work all that well because they barely gripped the lids, I went looking for a different set and ended up with the Regent Multipurpose Grippers. These are the ones I reach for to pop open all sorts of lids, like tricky pickle jars to too-tight water bottles. Plus, they help keep my cutting board from sliding around (more on that below).

There are a lot of hacks to open tough lids (like this bottle opener trick), but truthfully, I’ve only ever relied on my trusty little grippers. They work every single time. What makes Regent’s Multipurpose Grippers Set so effective is its rubber square pattern that nicely clings to the lid. 

I open jars so much more easily and without having to run the lid under hot water. At 5.5 inches wide, they’re large enough to accommodate nearly any size lid. I’ll also place them underneath my cutting board to keep it in place on my counter when chopping ingredients, a trick our Executive Editor Lauren Miyashiro taught me. 

This set comes with four grippers for $6.95 — that’s just under $1.75 per gripper. I firmly believe that they are more than worth it, but don’t just take my word for it. Shoppers bought more than 2,000 of them in the past month alone. Some even use them to open doorknobs! 

These grippers are cheap and small, but oh, they are mighty. I have yet to find a jar they can’t open. Before using these, it wasn’t unusual to see me running a jar under hot water, drying it off, and then attempting to open it with my previous grippers. 

I’d usually get the lid off after a few, but long, minutes of struggling and a tweaked wrist to boot. With these, I don’t have to do all that — and my wrist is grateful.

Beyond helping me get into jars of salsa, olives, pickled jalapeños, and more, these grippers are also my go-to for when I screw my Stanley tumbler’s lid on too tight. They also solve the slippery cutting board problem.

The pads themselves aren’t sticky to the touch at all, but the way they can hold onto a lid or stabilize my cutting board is so impressive. The four together are about the thickness of a coaster, so they fit in my kitchen’s under-sink organizer along with everything else. They do get the VIP treatment and sit right at the front; I know I’ll be grabbing for one at least once a day. 

Buy: Regent Multipurpose Grippers Set, $6.95 at Amazon

This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: The “Ingenious” Gem I Use to Open Tightly Sealed Jars in Seconds (More Than 2,000 Were Bought in the Past Month!)