Quick Tips: Pass the Pitter please

Do you have one? A Cherry Pitter, that is?

An undocumented feature of a Cherry Pitter... they can be used to pit Olives too.

I got a Cherry Pitter a few years ago when I decided to try making a Cherry Clafoutis*. I remember wondering how I was going to get the pits out of all of those cherries without totally annihilating the cherries and my sanity.

It was at that stage I wandered down the cooking accessory aisle at my local supermarket and found a cherry pitter. I can't remember how much it cost but I know it was under $15, and looking back it was one of the best $15 I spent on an accessory, as it made swift work of the cherries.

But like many specialized accessories, it sits in my kitchen drawer for 10 months of the year and only comes out in the height of summer when the cherries are at their sweetest. That was until I found another use for it - pitting olives!

Yet again I was faced with a large bowl - this time of olives - ready to make Tapenade**, only to realize the olives still had their pits. The fleeting memory of the cherries had me reaching for the cherry pitter, and it worked a treat.

Now I'll confess, after this incident I did do a little research and it turns out some brands of Cherry Pitters are actually referred to as "Cherry/Olive Pitters".

Note: I had jumbo olives, so a few of them didn't fit in the pitter - I had to manually take out the pits in those ones with a small knife.

Get your own Cherry Pitter...

*Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert made with soft fruits and a pancake-like batter.
**Tapenade is a chunky dip made with olives. It's excellent with fresh crusty bread or tossed with warm pasta.