An Excellent Cherry Stoner? Which Type to Buy?

[boilsover]

WHEREAS, Having the Jones for cherry jam, pie, Jubilee, Old Fashioneds, etc..etc.; and

 

Having now acquired a dehydrator and a Belgian copper preserve pan; and

 

Cherries now being in and of Season,

 

BE IT RESOLVED that I need a cherry pitter/stoner.

 

There seem to be two types: (1) a ram-type, whereby a ram or rod drives the stone out through the fruit, leaving the fruit mostly intact; and (2) a wheel-type, which tears or splits the fruit seemingly in two halves, freeing the stone.

 

Which type and model do you good people recommend?  Bonus points for vintage, non-plastic and high capacity.

 

Thanks! 

 

,

[heidih]

Not high capacity, but if you can find one of these they work so well. They do not butcher the fruit. Pointer and middle finger through the holes and fruit in the cup. It helps to have someone else handing you the fruit and pulling out the pits if they don't pop out  The cup is ceramic. Made in Austria. Proabably came over on the boat with the family.

 

[andiesenji]

I have this combination cherry pitter and plum stoner (shown with jumbo Ranier cherry) which also works for pitting olives.

 

   They also make one that is just a cherry pitter - same style - plastic.

 

It works quite well - better for me than the hand-held one which is difficult for me to use with the arthritis in my hands.

 

I couldn't find it online but there is this one which doesn't have the catch container for the pits but works on the same principle.

 

I have this antique one which I used for many years - it breaks the cherries but does not separate them from the pits so one has to pick over them carefully to make sure you remove every one.

 

 

 

 

[MelissaH]

Mine looks like a white plastic pair of scissors, except that instead of blades there's a cup with a hole on one side, and a pusher on the other side. Then again, I'm absolutely anal about pitting cherries for use in baked goods or for freezing, and I won't put a cherry into the "pitted" bowl until I know I have put the pit into the pit bowl.

[pkeibel]

We have the Leifheit cherry stoner and it works great and is small

[weinoo]

I'm quite fond of my Dalla Piazza.

[annabelle]

I have a cherry/olive pitter that looks a bit like a punch.  It has grips like a pliers and a rod on one side and a cup to catch the stone/pit.  It's easy to grip and works like a champ even if it is tedious to do them one at a time.

 

I can't recall the brand, but it is stainless steel and cost about $15.

[horseflesh]

I recently purchased this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HEXSWE

 

I am reasonably happy with it. It seems to miss the stone in about 1 in 20 cherries and as far as I can tell, that's an OK rating. If I am dehydrating the cherries, I don't even bother to check them after pitting because the pit is obvious and easy to fix in the final product. If I was making baked goods I'd have to check each cherry individually no matter what kind of pitter I used. 

[andiesenji]

I have several of the hand-held pitters and they are fine for a few cherries or olives, but I can't perform repetitive tasks with either hand so the plunger type is best for me.

 

Here's two.  I can use the scissor type a few times but the other one is too stiff for me to use even once - I can only force it through using both hands.

[Smithy]

I have a scissor type like yours, andiesenji. I agree that it's good for a few cherries or olives but a pain for many. I have a hopper-and-plunger type for large jobs. It works well, but it's plastic (not what boilsover wanted) so I haven't posted a photo.

[andiesenji]

I have a scissor type like yours, andiesenji. I agree that it's good for a few cherries or olives but a pain for many. I have a hopper-and-plunger type for large jobs. It works well, but it's plastic (not what boilsover wanted) so I haven't posted a photo.

I probably have that one too.  It is in one of the boxes of unused "gadgets" I should dispose of but haven't gotten around to it.  It worked okay for small cherries but simply would not fit the large ones and the extra large olives I like to stuff for snacks  - so I got the combination type. 

 

Lehman's used to have a metal cherry stoner but it is no longer in their catalog.  Only this one, which is available at Amazon and I believe it was mentioned in an earlier post with a link. 

Lehman's has gotten a lot of my money over the decades but I am disappointed that they no longer offer some of the real "old-fashioned" kitchen tools that were designed to last for decades. 

 

By golly, I found the metal one that Lehman's used to carry.  It is more expensive but it does separate MOST of the pits from the cherries. 

[annabelle]

Thanks for posting pictures, Andiesenji.  The one on the left looks a great deal like the one I have.

 

I have to agree about it not being very efficient for large batches of cherries or olives, but I don't have a good source of fresh cherries for jam, so it's fine for a pie's worth.

[janeer]

I do find my fingernails to be highly efficient. A small trussing skewer with a loop works well, too. And I make a lot of cherry pies and jam. http://littlecomptonmornings.blogspot.com/search?q=cherry+pie

[boilsover]

I probably have that one too.  It is in one of the boxes of unused "gadgets" I should dispose of but haven't gotten around to it.  It worked okay for small cherries but simply would not fit the large ones and the extra large olives I like to stuff for snacks  - so I got the combination type. 

 

Lehman's used to have a metal cherry stoner but it is no longer in their catalog.  Only this one, which is available at Amazon and I believe it was mentioned in an earlier post with a link. 

Lehman's has gotten a lot of my money over the decades but I am disappointed that they no longer offer some of the real "old-fashioned" kitchen tools that were designed to last for decades. 

 

By golly, I found the metal one that Lehman's used to carry.  It is more expensive but it does separate MOST of the pits from the cherries. 

 

Andie:

 

  Thank you VERY much.  As between the Westmark and the "Lehman's" style, which do you prefer?

 

Thanks!

[boilsover]

Thanks, Everybody (and 'specially andie)

 

This is the one I got, a New Standard Corp. #50 from Mt. Joy PA. USA.  I decided I wanted 'cored' cherries rather than 'torn', so I went with a plunger-style.  Couldn't find a Steinomat, and this vintage goes with my "new" Lehman's apple peeling machine better anyway.

 

5 lbs of Rainiers await!