You've Been Pitting Cherries Wrong This Whole Time

If it's summer, then it's cherry season time, and that means time for cherry pie, cherry crumble, cherry cobbler, cherry preserves, cherry sauce to drizzle over vanilla ice cream; you get the idea. Cherry pie filling is the number one pie filling we buy in the U.S., and on average, Americans consume 1.5 pounds of cherries per person each year (per South Florida Reporter). But before you break out your baking dish and turn on your oven, you will need to remove the pits of these sweet ruddy fruits. Cherries are stone fruits, which simply means they have a pit. Other stone fruits include apricots, plums, peaches, and almonds. Cherries have the dubious honor of being a superfood filled with antioxidants and numerous health benefits, including being an aid for insomnia (via NDTV Food). They're good to eat and good for you.

So, how do you pit a cherry? Well, chances are if you are asking that question, you probably don't have a fancy cherry pitter to do the job, but don't stress. We've got a cherry pitting hack that will not only save you time, but may make those with cherry pitters a little jealous they wasted their money on the culinary tool. It might also make them realize they've been pitting cherries wrong. What's the hack?

There are a lot of cherry pitting hacks on the internet. From using a pair of tweezers to using a paper clip to breaking a part a toothpick and using it to poke out the pit, we've seen it all. All of them are definitely resourceful and have their merits. But the hack we are about to share is not only easier, it's more efficient, and maybe a little less messy.

For this cherry pit hack, you will need a wooden chopstick (you know the ones you got with your take-out and put into a "utility" draw in the kitchen?), or a hard plastic straw, along with a glass bottle with an opening that is slightly smaller than the cherries. Remove the stem of the washed cherry and place it upside down on the bottle. Insert the chopstick or hard straw directly through the cherry until you've pushed the pit out and you hear it clang against the glass bottle as it drops. Voilà. The bottle catches the pit and you've got your first cherry ready to turn into cherry pie. Repeat this method until you have enough cherries for your recipe, a few to pop in your mouth (via Today). 

And if you happen to pit too many, not to worry. Cherries freeze well. Just place them in a freezer safe Ziplock bag and they can be used to make smoothies and other sweet treats (via Chantelaine).