A lid is over tight because of the natural vacuum seal produced during our bottling process. It’s actually a good thing that protects the product and supports a long shelf life. It can be frustrating when you’re dying to get into your relish though! We use a rubber strap wrench which is available in the plumbing supplies of hardware stores which is fail safe. The best way other than that is to run the lid of the jar under very hot water for about 30 seconds and then try. Please don’t ‘tap’ the lid of the jar on benchtops or ‘whack’ the lid with a spoon handle. We would hate for any damage done to the glass or lid to become dangerous to you.