Cherries, the Cherry Pitter and Pie! and the Fake Owl

in #thl7 years ago
We got a Solar Powered Fake Owl to protect our ripening cherries and I would say it has been a great success!

I used a NorPro Cherry Pitter for the first time and it was okay but not great. The suction cup did not work that well on my granite top counter, some cherries got stuck and had to be pried out and some cherries went through with pits intact. The spring loaded plunger got stuck a few times and had to be pressed down repeatedly to get it loose.

I tried dehydrating a few cherries to add to granola this winter but the weather did not cooperate so after two days I instead used them along with the rest of the first batch to make a cherry pie. These are juicy sour cherries so I also added some brown sugar and a little tapioca. The pie went to church with a warning that there may be one or two pits even though I had massaged the pitted cherries, carefully, I thought. I joked that if someone got The Pit they would get the Prize and go to heaven.

Everyone got at least one pit so I guess we will all be rewarded!

Today I pitted some more to make a pie for Vacation Bible School next week and very very carefully massaged the cherries as they came out of the pitter and again the whole bowlful and again as I poured the cherries into the shell. Each time I did find more pits.

Does anyone have any tips about how to successfully pit cherries? The tree is still loaded.

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Thanks. You got my 1 cent.

Wow, that tree really is loaded, amazing. What state or country are you in? I would love to grow cherries, one of my favorite fruits. I just pit them with my teeth lol.

With your teeth? and then you bake a pie? That would make a great video!

New Hampshire. We have found lots of fruit and nut trees that work around here, even with frigid cold and snowy winters. The peach trees are also loaded this year. This is the golden delicious.

Ahhhh you are pitting them for baking. Well thankfully I have not ever gotten very far in baking or making pastries due to my inability to follow most recipes or use precise measurements for anything lol. It is a gift and a curse because I do have an insatiable sweet tooth. I used to train in Manchester NH at a Marine Base there for some time. Also lived in Mass for many Years. I do miss the Berries,Cherries, Pears and Apples. But Mangoes and Avocados sure are nice too. We use to fill buckets with Blackberries and Blue Berries from this hill behind my house. We then take a 1.5 liter mason jar and put them in there with sugar and ice water and mash them up and eat that crazy mixture with a spoon after letting it sit in the freezer for a bit. It was our home made slushy's lol.

So imagine making a video with cherries and pitting them with your teeth!

Recipes? I use them for ingredient suggestions. I don't even make bread and granola the same way twice and I make them for my husband all the time. This must be why I find your videos and presentations so appealing.

I wish we could grow avocado and mangoes and pineapple.

Good idea about the slushies. We just picked a lot of raspberries today and this would be a great way to use them.They don't even need sugar they are so good this year.

I've never tried to remove the pits from cherries, so I can't help you there.
I'm glad that fake owl works for you, around here, people have to use bird netting to have any fruit to pick.

My husband refuses to use netting but this owl seems to be working.
You are an improvisational person. Please invent a cherry pitter that works!
This was $25 so not cheap.
But I am worried about the kids getting pits at VBS next week. I really massaged them over and over and yet when it came time to pour the cherries into the shell I still found 2 more.

Beautiful Tree. Mine is only a 2 year tree but I did get 8 cherries off of it. I had some damage from the bitter winter so it will take longer to recover. Thanks for sharing.

I think this tree may be in its third year with us and we too have bitter winters in New Hampshire...all that cold air and extreme wind coming down from Canada...Ha!

Last year we had just a few cherries.

We also have a sweet cherry tree but that is not yet producing. It may be 2 this year.
If you find a way to pit the cherries that works I would like to hear about it. I am worried about the VBS kids finding pits even though I really massaged the cherries over and over. Even when I thought I had them all and poured them into the shell I still found two more.

I always read all your posts and enjoy them.

Thank you, mine is a sweet stella cherry Tree

Followed you from thl

My husband came home with a big bag of cherries today. We don't get them often because they are expensive here. I just use a chopstick to push the pit through and out. I'm glad to see that your owl was successful.

The pitter may not be perfect but it does save a lot of tedious work when there are so many. This is the first year for this kind of production so it is a learning experience.
Store bought cherries are expensive!

Very nice! My son absolutely goes nuts over cherries. I didn't know a fake owl could be a scarecrow. :) I am no help with pitting cherries either. I do like that everyone got the prize at church!

These are sour cherries though so he might not like them. Well we have plenty more if he wants to come over for a virtual pick your own.
I hope that the weather will cooperate and I can dry the rest in our outside solar dryer for granola this winter; the bit of sour should make a good complement.

Ha ha! Yes, my little joke. It makes me nervous to be giving away things that have such potential for harm.

Nope I cant help you. I go for the bit and spit approach (usually outside) lol.
My neighbors tied on some bright silver foil streamers on their tree and it really seemed to do the trick.

Good thing you are not making any pies then!

Hey bchick, fellow THL member here with an upvote, resteem and follow!

Thanks!
Want to come over for some virtual cherry picking? There are still so many more.
We charge even less than than my upvote is worth ($.01) per whatever you bring to put them in.

 7 years ago  Reveal Comment

Thanks so much! I hope to see good content coming from you too.