Can anyone tell me why cherry pitters are both rare and #$^#$^
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Can anyone tell me why cherry pitters are both rare and #$^#$^ expensive — in Washington?After two summers of missing out on them, I finally scored some sour cherries from the Little Wing stand at the Columbia City Farmers Market, but I haven’t been able to make a clafouti with them yet because I’ve been having a devil of a time finding a cherry pitter. None of the five grocery stores in my neighborhood, however chichi, stock them. (Also bizarre in the grow-it-yourself age: the disappearance of canning jars, lids, and pectin from major supermarkets. Every jam season sends me driving around town.) Today, I finally took a walk up First Ave during lunch. I stopped in at Kitchen Basics’ brand-new location on First between Union and Pike, and the store had four models, none priced below $13. The OXO brand, normally near the top of the line, cost $16.99, though the store was having a 30 percent sale off OXO products. Then I went to Sur La Table in the Market, which only stocks the OXO pitters, at $12.99 a piece. Even though the pitter cost a buck more, I bought it there rather than walk back.I know this post makes me sound like the biggest cheapskate of all time, but I have a rule: I spend the most on the tools I use the most, and either skip or buy cheap versions of gadgets I use only once or twice a year (I mean, who has room for four different steamers? Wait, bad example). Thirteen dollars for one pie just seems excessive. I suppose the pitter will pay for itself in another three or four cherry seasons, provided I can get a regular supply of sour cherries. That is by way of a hint, O backyard orchard owners.
