Most single-use kitchen gadgets aren’t worth it — except this $10 cherry pitter

I’ve always felt that cherry pits were appropriately named, since removing them is, well, the pits. And while I, a former professional baker, have always loved cherry-based treats — pies, jams, sauces — I’ve never enjoyed making them. That is, until recently, when I reluctantly tried Amazon’s No. 1 bestselling Ordekcity Cherry Pitter for the first time. In general, I’m not a fan of single-use gadgets, but I have to say: game-changer much? If you plan on taking advantage of summer’s mini-stone-fruit bounty, I highly recommend grabbing one of these time-savers. It’ll cost you just 10 bucks, but you’ll save many precious minutes and a lotta headaches.

Amazon

Summer fruit is so much more enjoyable when it doesn’t take longer to prepare than it does to eat. This handy doodad does the job in no time. 

$10 at Amazon

In case you’ve never used one, the Ordekcity Cherry Pitter is a straightforward problem solver that delivers solid results. All you do is place your cherry beneath the stainless steel rod, press down and the pit will be shot down a little chute. Now you won’t have to slice each cherry in half and pick out the pits by hand, which slows down the process, gets on your nerves and makes a mess.

I haven’t done a personal tally, but the manufacturer claims you can de-pit 100 cherries in three minutes with this, and I believe it — it literally takes a second. I also didn’t notice a lot of fruit sticking to the pits and being wasted. Oh, and you can use it for pitting olives too! (Okay, so it’s not necessarily a single-use gadget — sue me!)

Apparently this tool isn’t too niche, considering that more than 1,800 users have given it a perfect five-star rating.

“This cherry pitter is perfection,” shared one satisfied shopper. ” It works like a charm. Doesn’t require a lot of hand strength (I have arthritis in my hands and had no problems using it). And it’s fast and fun to use. As a result, I just ate a mountain of fresh cherries.”

“I was dragging my feet [on] ordering a ‘one-use’ tool, but come to find out, it’s more than just a cherry pitter,” wrote another. “It’s a grape pitter, it’s a strawberry stem remover and it’s an olive pitter … I just need to say this — ‘OLIVE’ that!”

“It works extremely well, and I like the silicone base in which the cherry rests, as it does not bruise the fruit,” said a third. “I highly recommend to all who work with the whole fruit.”

“I do recommend checking to make sure the pit actually ejected,” heeded one buyer. “Occasionally one gets stuck inside a cherry and doesn’t come out. If I don’t see it drop out, I double-check. Also, there is some splatter occasionally, so don’t wear a shirt you care about. But, this tool is compact, easy to clean and saves a ton of time.”

“Only downfall is it might spray you with a bit of cherry juice,” echoed a final fan. “So I pit mine in a bowl and it avoids a mess. Really cool product.”

Amazon

Get it in black, blue, green, pink or this “berry” fitting cherry red. (I realize cherries are stone fruits, but the pun wrote itself.)

$10 at Amazon

Another summer produce must-have? This crazy-looking cuber:

Amazon

So, how does this contraption work? Well, you’ll still need to quarter your watermelon the traditional way (sorry, there’s no getting around that). But once that’s done, just place the cutter against the cut side of one quarter and push. Its windmill-like blades will portion the fruit into evenly sized cubes as you go, with the long handle acting as a sort of conveyor belt for the cut pieces. There’s even a handy measuring guide on the side should you want your cubes to be a certain height. From there, you’ll empty the cubes from the handle as you go and work your way through the watermelon row by row. No more slippery knives or jagged pieces that look like a toddler sliced them. 

“This is the best purchase I have made for the summer,” raved a reviewer. “I hate cutting watermelon, but this has totally changed my views. I cut three watermelons in, like, 10 minutes. It is so easy to clean as well.”

$10 at Amazon

If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.