How to Easily Pit Sour Cherries

Place the cherries in a bowl and rinse them thoroughly with cool water. Rinsing the cherries before pitting them will remove dirt and debris. Avoid rinsing them after pitting, as this will remove some of the flavors from the cherries, as well as increase the chance of debris getting inside them.

Remove the stems from sour cherries if necessary. Insert a clean straw into the stem area of each cherry. Gently push down on the straw, while twisting it to remove the pit from the other end of the cherry. Continue until you remove the pit from all the cherries.

Use a clean paper clip to pit sour cherries. This is another effective way for pitting cherries. Clean the paper clip with bleach water before using it. Straighten the top of the paper clip, leaving the lower end in a hook shape. Insert the hook end of the paper clip into the stem area of the sour cherry. Gently insert the hook under the pit and pull it upward and out of each cherry.