Once a year I need a cherry pitter. On the day I liberate it from the yonder back of the overfilled tool drawer, cursing the holiday cookie cutters and melon baller whose rough edges scrape my knuckles. But I persevere. It is a tool worth fighting for. After I once pitted pounds of cherries with a paring knife (and a bit more use of my fingernails than I like to admit), I succumbed to the lure of Sur La Table, where they seem to have a tool for everything. I went for the solid looking mid range option with a sturdy handle and a clear plastic splash guard which I understood from the package to be “essential” – and it is.

With my trusty pitter I can do two glorious things. I can pit upwards of 2 pounds of cherries in less than 15 minutes when I’ve got a good flow going OR I can out-source the job to children over the age of 5 and they think they’ve won the jackpot of cooking tasks!

Here’s basic set up:

• Wash and de-stem your cherries. Place in a bowl.
• Get a small bowl to pit over – this bowl will catch the ejected pits
• Get a bowl to place your pitted cherries into
• Place cherries “belly button” up in the pitter (that’s the end where the stem was attached)
• Put on some good music!
• Pit
• Use pitted cherries immediately or place in zipper bag and lay flat on a freezer shelf in a single layer.

And voila–your cherries are read to eat!

What is your favorite specialty tool? Share in the comments below!