An inexpensive tool and better way to pit cherries
Did you know that Washington state grows more cherries than any other state? Yep, this is the time of the year when the streets of the Northwest are paved with pits and 747 cargo jets at Sea-Tac airport span the globe to deliver 20-30 million pounds of fresh sweet cherries. Cherry pit-spitting is a valued seasonal art form, foodies brandish emergency juice bibs and fingertips have never looked finer wearing the color purple.
I’m no different; I gorge on cherries without regret, satisfied only when I’m convinced peach season has commenced. And because I like to cook with sweet cherries, I’m always looking for a better cherry stoner, the nifty little machine (and not woozy dude) that separates the pits from the flesh in an accurate and expedient fashion. Most pit-removing gadgets do little to dislodge the cherry seed and a whole lot to stain your clothes. Recently, I found my favorite new cherry pitter at our local island thrift shop. My latest find stands out as the best solution for under $20 (when new). In my humble cherry pitting opinion the Norpro Deluxe Cherry Stoner with Clamp
Here’s my video attempt at showing you how it works. Spielberg has nothing to worry about, and I promise the next video will be better. Friends commented and offered the following directorial advice while holding back (or not) the laughter: “Your head is huge,” “It made me slightly nauseous from the quick movement during filming,” and “Could you have used a nice tray?” These are points all well taken and to be remedied in my next video.
Cherries are in season…let the pitting begin!
Darn it! My computer @ work is perma-muted and my phone can’t load vimeo videos… booo! I’ll have to view this @ home.
Your head isn’t *that* big… you handsome devil you. 😀
When I eventually do get a cherry tree I’ll have to look into this. I haaaate removing cherry pits.
[and fight off my allergic reaction I get when I do in fact eat cherries. Booo…]
Tom, I love your video!!! I certainly hope the people at Norpro get a whiff of this. You should be getting a commission. More videos please….a star is born!!!! Susan
That was fun! You did a great job. And I had no idea it could be that easy – I may even give it a go. I am a Seattle-ite who dreams of your life. I love your updates so keep up the videos!
Theresea, thanks for visiting and after a visit to your blog, I can see you are well on your way to making it happen. So nice to meet and thanks for the encouragement.
Hooray–a better way to do it. I have one of those squeeze ones and I get more juice on the floor (and me). It’s a mess. I usually end up going outside and spitting pits out there. Not very ladylike, but hubby puts up with so much-LOL!
And don’t forget that “twin” cherries make great over the ear earrings!
Don’t let your friends give you a hard time about the baking sheet. You are portraying the real world. We all have a well loved baking sheet that we would use for this project, not a fancy tray. Fresh cherries are beautiful no matter what they are resting on!
Thoroughly enjoy reading your colorful posts.
Love the video. Your little machine makes cherry pitting easy as pie (pun intended).
Dang nabitt! What a great little invention.Christmas day wouldn’t be complete, though, without the Cherry Pip spit-a-thon while the kids wait for the lunch to cook. The asparagus recipe looks just great too! Nice to see Ms Monroe/Boz and Gracie 🙂
Looks slick! Bravo on the video debut!
That was a great video and you are a natural in front of the camera; just a few more and you could do a segment on PBS or something; hey, I love this cherry pitter and I would get it if I could but things ordered from Amazon have a way of getting lost in the mail all the way to Lebanon!
You did great, Tom! No worries at all. Nice to see the pooches “in action,” too. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Shirley
Tom – I love your video! Thanks for sharing – what great tool! I would love to get my hands on some sour cherries to make jam….never ever see them do you…or pie….or cake, well you get the idea!
That is sooo cool!!! Isn’t technology great! Also, nice to hear your voice for a change. Love to put a voice with the handsome face!!
You’ve sold me on this little cherry pitter. I was just working with cherries ( no apron at my disposal), and when I looked down at my clothing, I was totally saturated with red juice. I’ve been putting off this purchase for far too long. It’s time.
Thanks for the tips, Tom, and the first video attempt was great. I’m sending this to all my cherry-loving friends and I’m sure they will appreciate it, too.
Great vid! You did an excellent job. Looking forward to seeing more of these in the future…
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Tom! How lovely to hear your voice 🙂
I worked in radio for years, and there are very few people who sound just the way they look – you are one 🙂
Also, I envy that you get so many cherries that you need a special gadget to pit them 🙂
A lovely video. I have never seen this larger cherrystone picker before. Where did you buy it, Tom?
I think you were pretty cool! 😉
Hi. I first found your blog when looking for how to ripen peaches. I have enjoyed your entries ever since. Now I’m especially interested in your cherry entires. My daughter won approximately 304 cherries, so I am looking for all your cherry recipes. Also, can you freeze cherries?
Hi Jaye Lynne, you bet you can freeze cheeries, they work fine when thawed for dessert making or salads or sauces or eating single ones like a little Popsicle. I just spread them pitted on a jelly roll pan because it has sides, and freeze them. Then when frozen, I get a spatula and pop them off the tray and place them in ziploc ready to go back to the freezer.
I hope all is well,
I live in Sweden where cherries have gone feral since before the Vikings. feral cherries are very different from those firm ones on your video. Ours are very much juicier, are an explosion of flavor, but would be mashed, not pitted, by that device. Do you have any tips on pitting what is more a “tiny bag of juice” than the meaty cherries you feature? I’m stumped.
Hi Scott, probably the closest thing I have to cherries you’re describing is a variety called “Montmorency,” which are juicy and less meaty and a bit on the sour side of the flavor range. I use an old cherry stoner for those, but it does not keep them intact. Your description of “tiny bag of juice” describes it perfectly and thus has too little structure or firmness to be pitted whole. I do use this contraption, but it chews them up, so it’s what I use when I make jam:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3uOPAdKies. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help here. Take care!