Cherries have a relatively short season every year and, while you might not think that you need a gadget dedicated to cherries if you’re only going to use it for a couple of weeks, cherry pitters can really be a worthwhile time saver for cherry fans. Pitting a cherry by hand is a somewhat laborious process, because those pits don’t want to come out without a fight. It takes several minutes (5-15, depending on how practiced you are) to pit enough cherries for a Fresh Cherry Pie and if you do a lot of cherry-related baking during the season, those minutes will really add up. I have an old, handheld cherry pitter that doesn’t save me that much time over using a knife, but is easy to use. For those who pit a lot of cherries, something bigger and faster, such as the Leifheit Cherry Stoner might be a better solution.
The Leifheit Cherry Stoner is a little gadget that streamlines cherry pitting and allows you to do up to 25 pounds of cherries per hour! Cherries are placed in the top of the tray and fall through a funnel, where you use a springloaded plunger to punch out the pits with ease. The pits are collected in a tray and the cherries continue down the funnel, where you can collect them. Fast and easy, it is also much less messy than pitting by hand. The stoner is a little bigger than the size of a recipe card box and has a nonstick pad on the bottom to secure it while you work. You might not need it all year, but it is definitely handy (much handier than those little hand-held pitters) for cherry lovers and those who just love to bake cherry pie.
Lora
July 12, 2011This is the one my mother in law uses here in Germany. It’s excellent.
Betty
July 14, 2011I love cherries, and the handheld pitter I use is great for small jobs. This pitter though, is one I’m going to be looking for! Cherries are plentiful right now, and one cherry pit at a time takes (seems like) forever!