Eating cherries can be a healthy habbit. There are many benefits from all the vitamins and minerals in them, and they are helpful for regulating blood pressure. There are many ways in which you can eat them. First, you have raw cherries that require nothing else besides washing them. You can also add them in a pie, in sangria, or you can even make cool deserts with them. All of these recipes would require knowing how to pit cherries with a knife or other cutlery, or even a single-purpose pitter.
Pitters are usually a rather unnecessary investment. They serve the sole purpose of pitting cherries, right? They cost money, take up space in your kitchen, and yet, you rarely use them. You probably should buy one, as you can get the job done using other methods. For instance, this is why in this article we’ll show you how to pit cherries with a knife. Everyone has a knife at home, so you won’t need extra equipment in order to get the job done.
Without further ado, here’s how you pit cherries with a knife.
What you’ll need
If you’ve never done this, don’t be scared. What you’ll need for pitting cherries with a knife is what we all have in our kitchens – regardless of how underequipped they are. And you don’t need to spend a fortune to finish a simple task like this.
Of course, you’ll need cherries and a knife. Have a paring knife and a chef’s knife around, as there are two ways you can do this. Besides these, we’d recommend having a bowl for the cherries, and a bib apron. A cutting board will also come in handy if you don’t want to damage the working surface in your kitchen.
Just remember to use a plastic cutting board as sometimes the red color from the cherries can stay on the wooden cutting board.
That’s all.
There are two ways in which you can pit cherries with a knife, here they are:
Method 1 – The Olive Method
First, get all the cherries you have and place them in a bowl. Have an empty bowl around for the pitted cherries.
Second, place a cherry on your cutting board and watch out for spraying (now is the wise time to use the apron)
Third, get a chef’s knife.
Fourth, press the cherry with the knife until it pops. The pit will either pop out or it will be visible.
Fifth, simply pry the cherry apart and take throw away the pit.
Repeat the process for as long as you need to.
Note: This method is really effective and easy. However, it makes quite a mess. So, make sure you have towels at your disposal at all times. Also, the bad thing about this method is that you lose some of the juice on the board. To prevent this, try to pour the cherry juice into the bowl where your pitted cherries are.
Method 2 – The Paring Knife Method
This is a similar method with the same efficiency, and it requires more or less the same equipment – the cutting board, the cherries, a paring knife, a bowl and an apron.
First, wash the cherries and place them on your countertop.
Second, place a cherry on the cutting board.
Third, take a paring knife (or any knife with similar performance and sharpness) and rock it around the whole cherry. In the same way you’d do if you were cutting a peach or an avocado.
Fourth, take the cherry with your hands and place it above the bowl
Fifth, twist it into two pieces and reveal the pit
Sixth, discard the pit and put your cherry in the bowl
Repeat the process for as long as you need to.
Note: This method creates less mess and doesn’t end up with you losing all the cherry juice, but it requires more manual work. It is a really quick process, however, it mashes the cherries a bit.
Conclusion
Both of these ways on how to pit cherries with a knife are quite effective and they get the job done like it is supposed to. Of course, they aren’t the cleanest ways, but in the end, they provide results.
Regardless of which method you are choosing, remember that cherries from peak season can have a lot of juice. Cherry juice is known to be one of the hardest ones to get out of clothes, so remember to use a bib apron and cover up your clothes as you see fit. Otherwise, you might end up leaving stains on your clothes that won’t wash off easily, and we all know how annoying that can be.
As long as you are creative enough, you can find numerous ways in which you can do different tasks in the kitchen without the proper tools or equipment. For instance, besides these two ways, you can pit cherries by using chopsticks or even straws. Simply push the item across the diagonal of the cherry, and the pit will pop out.
All in all, we hope that we’ve helped you find your way around your kitchen and that now you know more about handling cherries in the kitchen. Also, we hope that we’ve saved you from an unnecessary investment like a pitter since these items have no point whatsoever. As you already know, you can get the job done without any of the fancy kitchen tools and gadgets.
So, enjoy your DIY pitting knowledge and prepare some tasty deserts, ice creams or even drinks like sangria.
Gary Portman is the founder and main author of Knivesadvice.com. With his extensive knowledge and experience, he is committed to assisting people in choosing the perfect knife for their needs. Through his articles, Gary shares valuable insights on various aspects of knives. With his expertise, readers can make informed decisions and find a knife that is tailored to their preferences and requirements. You can find more info about Gary here.