cherry pitter

I’m obsessed with this cherry pitter!

cherry in cherry pitter

Me: So what should this week’s favor-ette Friday post be about?
Chelsea: Mom, your cherry pitter of course.
Me: You think?
Chelsea (as she’s giving me “the look”): Really, Mom? I mean, you’re obsessed with it.

She’s right.

I tend to be in the “less is more” school of kitchen gadgets. I try to avoid tools and utensils that have a singular purpose, or can be easily substituted with an item I already own. So, for example, you’ll never find a whoopie pie maker, a corn stripper or a “meatballer” in my kitchen (although I am sure they are all wonderful, well-made products……). A sharp chef’s knife is my preferred tool for mincing garlic, and a pair of good kitchen shears shreds herbs, cuts up pizza and trims chicken pieces quickly and neatly.

Which is why I never bought a cherry pitter. And I LOVE fresh cherries – they are one of my favorite summer fruits. And while I don’t mind the pits so much when eating cherries, cooking and baking is another story. You pretty much always have to remove the pits when using cherries in a recipe, and only a cherry pitter will do the job safely and easily. But as they fell into that “single purpose” category, I could never justify buying one.

And then on my recent visit to Smorgasburg I stopped by the Brooklyn Kitchen tent. Brooklyn Kitchen sells all manner of cookware and utensils, both on-line and in their store in  Williamsburg. I was scanning their great display when my eye caught this:

cherry pitter

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a total sucker for anything old – the more vintage-y and retro the better. And this cherry pitter was the real deal. It was invented in 1938 and is still in production today. It attaches to a jar or glass so when not in use it takes up very little room in your kitchen drawer.

cherry in cherry pitter

It’s easy to use (even with my arthritic hands) and made short work of a pound of cherries.

bowl of pitted cherries

Best of all it was only $10! I took it home, showed it off (clearly a bit too much) and promptly made this:

cherry brown butter bars

cherry brown butter bars

(recipe coming soon……………) here it is!

You can buy it on-line here, and then you too can annoy your family by obsessively talking about it (until they taste all the goodies you’ll now want to make).

Happy Friday!

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4 Comments

  1. meri on August 12, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    i love brooklyn kitchen. i used to live a couple blocks away, we shopped there all the time. i miss having stores like that in the neighborhood. btw, if you ever go into the store, there was a great butcher right across the street that had the best rice balls.

    • sheri silver on August 12, 2011 at 10:33 pm

      Been wanting to check it out – and rice balls? Love!

  2. jodi on August 13, 2011 at 9:09 am

    I’m no fan of the single-use gadget either, particularly after buying (then returning) the lame cherry pitter from Williams-Sonoma. But this — I gotta go with your review and become converted. Bring on the cherry pies!

    • sheri silver on August 13, 2011 at 1:30 pm

      YES! 🙂

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Hi! I'm Sheri!

Welcome to my little corner of the web where you’ll find easy, delicious recipes, the best kitchen hacks and simple tips for turning your home into a clean haven that is free of toxins. So glad you’re here!