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What is a Cherry Pitter?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A cherry pitter, also called a cherry stoner, is a device for removing the pits of cherries and other small stone fruit, such as olives. Using a cherry pitter will greatly reduce kitchen time for recipes like cherry pie and preserves, as removing the pits by hand can be extremely time consuming. Most kitchen specialty supply stores carry several cherry pitter types ranging from simple hand held models to large ones which clamp onto counters and are designed to pit multiple fruits at once. The pitter will remain a durable and useful kitchen tool as long as it is properly maintained, although the blade or blades may need to be sharpened periodically for optimal functioning.

Many cooks become frustrated when working with cherries because a large part of the fruit's volume is taken up with an inedible pit, also called a cherry stone. Because the fruits are so small, a large number of cherries must be pitted before pies, jams, and other fresh fruit recipes can be made. Pitting stone fruit in such a large volume is tedious, and could aggravate repetitive stress injuries as well. In addition, pitting fatigue may lead to kitchen accidents, as the cook may become careless with the sharp paring knife used for pitting. A cherry pitter, therefore, is an investment to consider, especially for cooks with a surplus of this tasty summer fruit.

Rainier cherries.
Rainier cherries.

There are two basic models of pitter: clamp on models, and hand held versions. A hand held cherry pitter usually resembles a garlic press, with a depression for the cherry to be placed in, and a flat disk to force the fruit through a blade which will cut away the flesh and leave the pit. However, the cherry needs to be precisely positioned in the pitter in order for it to work. This type of cherry pitter also requires a lot of handwork, and is not practical for large projects.

A cherry pie.
A cherry pie.

For cooks who handle a large volume of cherries, several companies make a high volume cherry pitter with a hopper which is designed to clamp to a countertop. Cherries are fed into the hopper and forced through with a plunger. As the fruits push through, the pitter separates the flesh and the stones. Some versions of this type of cherry pitter for home use can handle as many as 70 cherries at a time.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

honeybees

You don't have to use a Cherry Pitter to pit cherries, but is sure makes the job easier. The first time I ever attempted this, I did not have any kind of pitter, so did this by hand.

If you are wondering how to pit cherries without a pitter, it really isn't very hard - it just takes quite a bit of time. It seems like you have to go through a lot of cherries before you have enough to make any kind of dessert.

I used a typical office paper clip and bent it into the shape of an 'S'. This was inserted into the cherry to remove the pit. Once you get the hang of it, you can move pretty quickly. Wearing gloves makes this a little more awkward, but it sure helps your hands from getting stained.

John57

My neighbor has a couple of cherry trees, and does not use them at all. She said I was welcome to pick as many cherries as I wanted to. Since my family loves cherry pie and any kind of cherry dessert, I took her up on this offer.

I looked at several kinds of cherry pitters and decided to purchase an OXO. The reason I went with this is because after reading several reviews many people like it because it has a splatter shield to prevent cherry juice from getting everywhere when you were pitting the cherries.

It has worked well for me for the purpose I want to use it for since I am never doing a whole lot of cherries at one time.

bagley79

If you are going to be pitting a large amount of cherries, I would definitely look into buying a cherry pitter machine that frees both hands to work. This makes a big difference when you can clamp the pitter on the counter and the whole process will go much quicker.

Pitting cherries can be a time consuming and messy job, but if you have the right equipment it can really make the job much easier and you won't dread doing it as much.

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    • Rainier cherries.
      By: Harris Shiffman
      Rainier cherries.
    • A cherry pie.
      By: Elena Blokhina
      A cherry pie.
    • A cherry pitter can also be used to remove pits from olives.
      By: Lsantilli
      A cherry pitter can also be used to remove pits from olives.
    • A cherry pitter is the most efficient way to pit cherries when cooking.
      By: baibaz
      A cherry pitter is the most efficient way to pit cherries when cooking.
    • Using a cherry pitter to get rid of pits cuts down on preparation time when making pies or other foods with cherries.
      By: Jeppestown
      Using a cherry pitter to get rid of pits cuts down on preparation time when making pies or other foods with cherries.