I have been looking at cherry pitters in anticipation of possibly getting some romance series bushes. The Enterprise models from the 19th century seem to be plentiful currently. My question is - what do the numbers mean on them? As in, No.1, No.16, No.50 etc… I imagine this corresponds to the size of cherry that can be processed effectively. Any ideas?
Don’t know what the numbers mean, but if you are getting one specifically for romance series cherries, you should probably get one that has adjustable “gate” on it. That is the slot which separates the pit and fruit is adjustable with wingnuts and sliders. Otherwise unless it is a fixed one designed for small cherries the romance cherries may not separate correctly.
Steve, thanks for the response and suggestions. I was looking for a very low tech, low cost option and that’s how I ended up on the Enterprise. I saw you might have a similar model, does yours have a number?
Mine says: Enterprise Cherry Stoner, with No 11 cast into the top. Pat. April 24 1883 on the other side of the top.
It works, but is not perfect with smaller fruits. At best it takes out 80-90% of the pits, so you need to do some hand checking (or live with stones in whatever you are making). It does have those sliders with wingnuts to adjust for different sized pits. I keep it at the smallest setting for Carmine Jewell.
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I have a few cherry pitters ive collected over the last few years and the one with the adjustable gates works the best, I havent found one that works well with CJ yet, but they do an acceptable job with juliet, cuz the pits are larger, still some sneak through occasionally. I actually found someone selling a brand new one, that was made about 100 years ago and snagged it. Id love to find a way to 3d print those dang things using a high density food grade plastic. Im just not sure how to copy it and reproduce the damn thing, its a shame these arent made anymore…
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I see several number models on eBay- were these different size pits, or just the ‘updated’ models?
-edited- I see an advertising card - No 1 was ‘Japanned’ No 2 was ‘Tinned’. How about the others? I hit auctions (in normal times) so I will look.
From the card-
The Enterprise Cherry Stoner
Per Doz.
No 1, Japanned’ $7.50
No 2, -->Tinned<-- $9.00
It can be adjusted by means of a thumb-screw to adapt it to the different sizes of Cherry Stones. It does the work rapidly, removing every stone.
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I use the paperclip method. Using this method I can get BUSY and pit a s@$t load of cherries in no time.
I had never heard of that before. It certainly looks like it could be effective but I’ll probably stick with a machine if I can find one that works.
I have a hand-held pitter that works well, if you are doing just a bowl at a time. More becomes a bit much. Mine is old enough that it says ‘Made in West Germany’, like my pans do. Might need to look at new [or at least more recent] Euro kitchenware. They seem to assume people still cook.
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Give it a try. You will be amazed before you are halfway through. It’s just about the cheapest pitter you can find. Have fun!
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Off topic, but we recently upgraded to aluminum clad stainless cookware and it’s a night and day improvement over our old stuff. The brand we have is Vigor (basically off brand allclad) and it’s restaurant quality.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/stainless-steel-cookware-sets.html
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Those look nice. I have had an All-Clad set for about 20 years but I won’t spend that much money again. This Vigor brand seams interesting
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We’ve had All-Clad, Berndes, and LeCreuset for 25+ years, from when family used to run a kitchenware store. And I have lots of cast iron I have collected and rehabbed over the years. I’ve gotten a few newer AllClad non-stick when my Berndes bit the dust, but TJMaxx and associated stores are the way to go. You never know what and when, but the prices are so much better.
That’s why I am looking at the old cast iron pitters. They can be easy to rehab if in ok shape, and will last for me. I have a Leifheit handheld that only does one cherry at a time. Fine for a dessert, but I really wish I had gotten the one with tray that I could just keep going.
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I have a pitter like this one. It’s incredible- I don’t know why I used a paper clip for so many years. A chore that used to take hours now takes me a couple minutes. I no longer dread sour cherry season.
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I also bought one of these and was disappointed. I got more seeds separated than you seemed to but fruit was only suitable for jam after they went through the pitter. I have done the slow tiring one cherry at a time sitters with good success. I bought an Oxo pitter that works like a one at a time pitter but has six positions to pit six at a time.
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That’s mine. Works a charm
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