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This is an oddball question but I am hoping someone can help me identify this device, which appears intended for use in a kitchen based on its location in a drawer full of other kitchen tools. As you can see it is about 4 inches long.

mystery kitchen device

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  • 5
    Always reread "Doodad" by Ray Bradbury when given a box full of mystery kitchen tools.
    – rackandboneman
    Apr 22, 2017 at 15:50
  • Or watch Dead Ringers...
    – Jason C
    Apr 24, 2017 at 15:01
  • 6
    Wow - your tape measure doesn't have cm on it! Is it normal to only have 1 measurement system on them where you are?
    – xorsyst
    Apr 24, 2017 at 16:32
  • 2
    I would prefer a banana for scale.
    – LarsTech
    Apr 24, 2017 at 17:37
  • 3
    One scale is normal in the U.S. for construction tape measures.
    – JDługosz
    Apr 25, 2017 at 6:40

3 Answers 3

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105

This is a cherry pitter. The metal ring holds the cherry while the piston forces the pit out right through the cherry.

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    Doh! Of course it is. :) Actually I never saw one of these before but now that you describe its function it makes perfect sense.
    – O.M.Y.
    Apr 22, 2017 at 15:43
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    I'm guessing it's not that familiar to most people nowadays since most use cherry pie filling or buy canned pitted sour cherries. It works well but I remember how sore and tired my hand was after pitting enough cherries for a pie!
    – Jude
    Apr 23, 2017 at 9:19
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    I was considering modifying the barrel & hopper of an old paintball gun and adding a cam-driven "plunger" to push out the pit to make an automated one of these. Not sure how I would eject the empty cherry, yet.
    – O.M.Y.
    Apr 23, 2017 at 22:58
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    Cherry-rigged solutions ... and why do they always put two non-pitted cherries in every jar of pitted ones?
    – rackandboneman
    Apr 24, 2017 at 6:55
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    Wow, it's a very old-school cherry pitter! Newer single-cherry, manual pitters are often shaped more like paper staplers and are much easier on the hands. I was gifted a no-name knockoff of this one and it's quite nice to use.
    – SevenSidedDie
    Apr 24, 2017 at 17:49
18

Also seen to be used as an olive pitter. Same solution, similar problem.

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4

Cherry or olive pitter: first two fingers trough the side loops, thumb through the center loop, raise the plunger and insert the fruit pole to pole at the bottom and depress the plunger

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