Recommended cherry pitters

I read in Cooks Illustrated last month to use a wine (or glass soda) bottle. Put the cherry on top, then use the fat end of a chopstick to push the pit out. Still not terribly convenient, but I think it would eliminate all the splashings of cherry juice. This year I did my 4 lbs of cherries by halving them and digging the pits out with my thumb. lol Not fancy, but fast.

RE: Recommended cherry pitters

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Posted by cjzimmer (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 2, 11 at 14:25

We (okay my kids since they do all the pitting) use a sturdy straw and just push it through the cherry starting at the stem end. Pretty easy but it is a little juicy. Last year I had my 6, 8 and 10 year old pit 16 quarts. I think it took them about 1 1/2 hours.

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Posted by pixie_lou 5 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 2, 11 at 17:47

I remember last summer some one posting that they had put up something like 100 quarts of cherries. I remember he used a cherry pitter from Lehmans. I can't seem to find the thread.

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Posted by jimnginger 9 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 2, 11 at 21:32

I would recommend an OXO brand cherry pitter. It also does olives.
One of the two nice features is that it has a shield on the bottom that is removable and keeps cherry juice from squirting all over the place. The second nice feature is that it has a "fold up" position so when stored, it stores closed and not open.
It costs about $12.00 in our market.
Jim in So Calif
PS - and the exterior handles are black rubber covered so you have a soft but non-slip grip. It also cleans easily.

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Posted by ltilton 5 (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 2, 11 at 23:09

The OXO looks like a slightly more advanced version of the handheld pitter I already have. The care needed to position the cherry makes it really slow going, and the larger cherries just don't fit.

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Posted by jimnginger 9 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 4:46

We only have bing cherries here and I have never found one too big to fit in the OXO.
I don't know how many cherries you do at a sitting but I will sit down and do 10 or 20 pounds at a time.
There are electric models that could you could go into a small business with but I don't know the names - I'm not in the market for that big a volume.
Jim in So Calif

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Posted by ltilton 5 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 9:29

I'm thinking of something where I pour a quart of cherries into a hopper, turn a crank, and they come out pitted. Something that doesn't work cherry by cherry.

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Posted by david52 z5CO (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 10:36

We use a brand of pitter that is no longer available (Kenwood) but operates on a similar theory as the one linked at Amazon - a spring-loaded plunger. You can pit an awful lot of cherries in a short time.

The drawbacks:

- doesn't do small cherries very well
- does miss a few pits when you try to go too fast

Here is a link that might be useful: cherry pitter

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Posted by ltilton 5 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 3, 11 at 12:07

That one looks an awful lot like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Deluxe-Cherry-Pitter-Suction/dp/B002HEXSWE/ref=pd_sim_k_3

I never thought to look for a =stoner= WAY different connotation!

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Posted by bennette4796 z7 South Jersey (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 20:22

I have the Norpro Deluxe with the clamp to attach to the counter, and really like it. Fast, easy to clean, and really lets you get into a production mode... You just dump a bunch of cherries into the hopper, and hit the plunger as fast as you can, and then you're done. For 19.99 with free shipping, it's a bargain for the amount of labor saved.
EileenB

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Posted by annie1992 Z5 MI (My Page) on
Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 22:51

Elery bought me a Leifheit last year, we did 20 pounds of sweet cherries in under and hour. If you go too fast, you'll occasionally miss a pit, but you can put a big cup of cherries in the top and they'll drop down one at a time for pitting with the plunger. The pits drop into the bottom chamber, the cherries get spit out into a bowl.

Works like a charm, and well worth the $25 or so he spent for it. It got really good reviews on Amazon, so I'm not the only one who likes it.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Leifheit cherry pitter

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Posted by amysrq 5 (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 8, 11 at 15:34

I have the Norpro Deluxe and really like it. I get carpal tunnel syndrome just thinking about the hand-held ones.

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Posted by david52 z5CO (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 9, 11 at 13:53

On a related note, I went out this morning at 7:00 am to pick pie cherries, and out of the tree flew maybe 50 birds, and instead of several gallons of ripe cherries, I picked a gallon of not-so-ripe, bird reject cherries.

Oh well.

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Posted by Trishcuit none (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 9, 11 at 23:31

well I think I may have to go online and look at cherry pitters! I have a cheap little handheld one that sprays everything in sight and makes the place look rather macabre by the time I am done. It also takes forever!

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Posted by ltilton 5 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 10, 11 at 10:48

Be sure to search for "stoners" as well as "pitters".

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Posted by Trishcuit none (My Page) on
Mon, Jul 11, 11 at 20:13

thank you.

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Posted by ltilton 5 (My Page) on
Wed, Jun 6, 12 at 20:20

Fast forward a year and the end of another cherry season. I got the Leifheit Cherrymat pitter, and while it's not perfect, it works quickly to pit a lot of cherries fairly effectively. A lot better than one at a time. Did a gallon in about 15 minutes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leifheit Cherrymat cherry pitter

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