As someone who spent almost 20 years trying to pit olives with limited success using only a small paring knife, I feel compelled to finally share some useful information I learned last year at Tante Marie's Cooking School. Sorry I selfishly kept this to myself for so long.
SMASH THE OLIVE OVER THE HEAD WITH A MEAT MALLET AND THE STONE WILL POP RIGHT OUT.
Simply smashing! Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteSam -- I was taught to press down on the olive with my thumb, but soon realized something a little stronger works better. (I usually use the blade of a cleaver). Thanks for passing on the trick!
ReplyDeleteHaven't tried it yet, but if it works you won't believe how much time this saves me!!!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have an olive/cherry pitter but it only works so-so.
Thanks!
I usually first put a little slice in all the olives I want to pit, then use the blade of the chef's knife to pop out the pit, this leaves the flesh intact and I cut the olive in two or into smaller slivers, depending on what I'm making.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Glad your appetite came back.
Fucking. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sam, you've just saved me hours in the kitchen cursing at my kalamattas!
Anybody want an unneeded cherry pitter? I think I have two...
ReplyDelete:D
That's way to sophisticated Sam. I just use the base of the jar the olives come in.
ReplyDeleteAnd who do you imagine you are bashing as you do this?!?!
ReplyDeleteWho needs therapy when you have olives and a meat tenderizer?
ReplyDeleteHaha, good to know! Thanks Sam.
ReplyDeleteI had been squashing them with the blades of my knife - but I prefer to use mallets whenever possible in my kitchen. looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteB
Hand to Mouth
I have a cat named "Rubber Mallet". Will this work?
ReplyDeleteI never get this far - olives are pitted in my house when inside our mouths....
ReplyDeletelovely that you are back - and take the R&R as needed - I took five months so your little week or so really doesn't count...
I recall that Marcel Vigneron from Top Chef said that someone (don't remember that part) taught him how to pit an olive using a funnel. Can't for the life of me figure out how that would work, and I don't own a funnel, so I can't experiment...
ReplyDeleteFabulous! And a stress reliever too!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip. Thanks! I usually crush them with the bottom of a saute pan.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant- perfect since I have my eye on David's Fig and Olive Tapenade.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're back to posting regularly!
I can if anyone wishes to know tell how using a funnel would and could work. EmBee.
ReplyDeleteI always squeeze them between thumb & forefinger. It usually works pretty well, but has been known to cause Purple Finger Syndrome.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you back in action. And good to know!
ReplyDeleteThat looks fun. If I'm pitting them for cooking so they don't have to be perfect looking afterwards, I just squeeze em with my fingers and the pit pops out easy, at least with most varieties. But giving 'em a good whack might be even better!
ReplyDeleteMichael Natkin
The Vegetarian Foodie Blog
I'd be concerned about getting pit pieces in my mouth
ReplyDeleteLovely! You're back and my life is so crazy that I missed it.
ReplyDeleteI was wasting time pitting by smashing with the side of my chef's knife--I so need to get a mallet before it gets out that I don't have one.
great smashing tip!Now I can make a tapenade without worrying about getting those dang pits out. I love tante marie...such a charming school.
ReplyDeleteI wish this worked on people.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to try this, although my kitchen walls suffer when I and my meat tenderizer go to work. I'd be interested to hear from the cherry pitter people what isn't so great about that method; I've been thinking of getting one specifically to pit olives.
ReplyDeleteI read about the funnel thing at Cook's Illustrated. It's a reader tip:
"Place a funnel upside down on the work surface. Stand one end of the olive on the spout and press down, allowing the pit to fall through the funnel."
Vicki—
ReplyDeleteThe funnel guy was Ilan Hall, actually, although he did say (in the Food & Wine interview where the funnel comment can be found) that Marcel Vigneron was the one who taught him the trick.
It is so sad that I can recall that from memory.
Has anyone actually tried the funnel trick? I like the catharsis of the Tao de Mallet (a la Sam) loads better.
I feel like you've just changed my life. I love to put out olives at parties, but they are so much nicer without the pits. (And I hate cleaning up all the pits people have spit out on their own!)
ReplyDeleteKrista
http://kristainlondon.typepad.com
oh my gosh....amazing! I can't stand pitting olives. I'm off to buy a mallet!
ReplyDeleteAnother tante marie tip: Use the tip of a swivel peeler (a straight one not a Y-one) to remove cherry stones. You dig them out like you would to remove potato eyes. Not as easy as smashing them, though...
ReplyDeleteAlso, do it inside a plastic bag so you don't get cherry juice *everywhere*...
Just googled how to pit an olive because I unfortunately came home with unpitted ones!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip. I don't have a meat hammer, but I do have a pretty heavy duty muddler which I use on the olive after putting in a small slice as someone else suggested.
Thanks Foodies - You Rock!
Craig
Vancouver, Canada