spamtrap1888 wrote:
> Having picked a quart and a half of sour cherries, I was panicking
> when I could not find my little made-in-Hong-Kong cherry pitter, the
> kind that slips over two fingers and is operated with the thumb.
>
> I thought, well this must be easy to find, only to discover that no
> grocery or hardware or kitchen supply store (e.g. Surly Table) within
> miles carries this any more.
>
> And this is the canonical cherry pitter according to wikipedia:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_pitter
>
> All I can find are great hulking things made out of pot metal,
> suitable for pitting olives, egg carton things that can pit four at a
> time, etc. None are suitable for relatively tiny sour cherries.
>
> What to do?



I used to have one of those pitters that you stick tow fingers in and
press a plunger with your thumb to push out the pits. It was a PITA.,too
small for my digits. I resorted to popping them out with a paring
knife. I consider myself to be extremely lucky to live in an area
where I can get fresh sour cherries. There are several cherry farms
within a few miles of my house. Better yet, automation has taken over.
They shake the trees to harvest the fruit and then take them directly to
their own little processing plants where they are washed, pitted and put
into pails that are flash frozen. If I get there on the right day, I can
get pails of freshly frozen cherries. They are cheaper than buying them
by the quart, and they are ready to go. It's perfect.