Cherry/plum pitter?

[habitat_gardener]

We have a prolific cherry plum tree, beloved by the squirrels, that produces more than enough for everyone. Last year I laboriously pitted and froze a few containers and we enjoyed them later in the season (plum rhubarb crisps!).

This year, it occurred to me that if I had an easier way to remove the pits, I might pick and preserve more of the fruit. It seems silly to get a tool for just one use, though, so I was wondering if anyone has used and can recommend a specific cherry pitter, or an easy way to remove the pits. I looked on line and the gadgets are not that cheap, about $15 - $30 and up. Do they work? Are they worth it?

[Worth1]

Yes they are worth it look on Youtube and see what the one does you may want to buy.
Almost everything I buy I look for videos of it to see how well it works and so on.

Remember sometimes good things aren't cheap just our paychecks.

Will a cherry pitter work on plums?

Worth

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Will a cherry pitter work on plums?

They are cherry-size plums. I assume if a tool works well with cherries, it will work for these plums.

[Worth1]

Cherry pits come out easy I just wonder how it would work on a plum that has a pit that clings to the flesh.
Would you just end up with mush?

Do the seeds come out easy on these wee little things?

Worth

[Hunt-Grow-Cook]

I buy a few pounds of cherry plums and regular cherries every year and make bounce with them. The cherry pitter is worth the investment for both, believe me. THe coke bottle and chopstick method got old real quick. Worth has a great point though, especially with the really ripe cherry plums, you probably wont salvage all of the flesh.

All the more reason to drop them in a big gallon jar, add a few cinnamon sticks, maybe some sugar, and fill with your favorite alcohol. Cherry Plum Bounce....oh yeah.

About 35 years ago I saw a clever home-made cherry pitter at a farm in Oregon. My bucket of cherries was dumped on it and a lid brought down. I recall the lid was full of nails and the base had lots of holes.

[rwsacto]

Hmmm,

Every year, I slice up and freeze fresh plum parts for smoothies the rest of the year. I will have to try our different cherry pitters in a week or two.

For some, the plums will be too large.

Otherwise it is just a messy chore I do 2-3 times a year.

Rick

[Hunt-Grow-Cook]

Originally Posted by rwsacto

Hmmm,

Every year, I slice up and freeze fresh plum parts for smoothies the rest of the year. I will have to try our different cherry pitters in a week or two.

For some, the plums will be too large.

Otherwise it is just a messy chore I do 2-3 times a year.

Rick

Cherry plums are a specific variety that is the size of a cherry. The skin is also quite tart like cherries can be, where the flesh is very much like a plum. Regular plums are typically larrger. You can actually find them growing wild in parts of sacramento.

[habitat_gardener]

We got the Oxo cherry pitter (it was the only one in t he store we went to). It works! So much easier than doing it manually, though some cherry-plum innards do go into the compost, and you have to make sure the pit falls into the correct container.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XVGRS 13 September 2013 Pitting Plums
It was necessary to remove the pits from 40 pounds of plums. After some thought, it was decided to try my cherry pit removal tool.This tool is available in the kitchen tool section of many stores. It was found this tool works just fine in removing plum pits. The jobs takes a bit of time but is efficient and practical. Pictures depict the process.

I buy my cherries with the pits removed from a local supplier, but I have removed them by hand. It is a bit messy but effective.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?KLQWU 13 September 2013 Juicing Plums
Forty pounds of plums were processed into 23 litres of juice. The plums were pitted, water added to cover, cooked until soft, blended into a slurry, strained through the food mill to remove some larger particles (probably not necessary), pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage.The end product is relatively sweet and most pleasant to drink. The plums were purchased since my trees are still immature.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?CQSLE 29 July 2014 Sweet Cherry Juicing
Twenty pounds of frozen, pitted, sweet cherries were purchased at $1.60 per pound and processed into nine liters of juice, which was pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature. There is little gross fiber in cherries so screening can be dispensed with if one is not fussy.Simply blending into a slurry is probably sufficient.