Cherries and Chopsticks

one of several cherry-pitting methods

Cherry season is is in full swing. Most of the cherries that I eat, I just pop into my mouth and enjoy. Then I spit out the pit. However, there are times when I want attractive pieces of fruit to use in a dish. In the past, I have just pitted the cherries using a sharp knife, but this week I decided to go online and see how others did it. You Tube offers a quite a few videos on the subject.

Surprise! For those who do not own a dedicated cherry-pitter, a bent paper clip is one of the most popular tools for removing cherry pits. I didn't even bother to try this method, since I don't have great fine motor skills. I imagined an embarrassing accident that I would try to explain to an incredulous medical professional. One video  showed me how to bend the tines of a fork just so, but that also looked way too energetic and potentially dangerous. A few folks used sharp knives, but I already knew how to do that. One technique, though, really caught my attention: the chopstick method.

To my way of thinking, this had several virtues. It was simple; it required no sharp implements; it did not require a great deal of dexterity. But would it work? Yes, it did. I have many chopsticks and all but the really pointy ones worked well. In a few cases, there was a bit of wayward cherry juice, but all in all this was a pretty nifty solution.