Published September 1, 2001. From Cook's Illustrated.
This "spoon" can be used to pit any stone fruit.
The sharp, pointy "spoon" that lives in your drawer is commonly known as a peach pitter, though it can be used to pit any stone fruit and can be put to other uses. To remove pits from free- and cling-stone fruits, firmly grasp the handle and pierce the fruit's skin with the inflexible 2-inch spiked blade. Once the "spoon" reaches the core, twist the pitter to loosen and capture the pit, and then pull it out, leaving the fruit intact. The peach pitter can often be found among the tools of peach and plum tree growers. Before the advent of pitting machines, commercial growers and jam makers used it to ready their fruit for preserving. Home cooks may still find it handy when putting up preserves or jams.
The elliptical blade, with its close hand proximity, can also be used to make precise, shallow cuts; eyeing and coring even the toughest thick-skinned fruits and vegetables is a piece of cake.
