Review on Effortless Olive Pitting with the Westmark Olive Pitter/Stoner: A Must-Have Kitchen Tool by Michelle Chopra

PRO: o Easy to use o Makes the job quick and easy CONS: o Rather expensive cookware for a specific purpose. it removes pits quickly and easily. My only minor issue (and why I didn't give it 5 stars) is that there are two raised ridges cast into the metal around the top hole that the piston goes through, intended to hold the end of the coil spring. in the middle of the hole. The spring easily detaches during washing or handling, allowing one end of the reel to go over that little "edge" and then partially get in the way of the end of the plunger, causing the mechanism to bind when you try to squeeze the reel knobs. This is easily fixed by simply readjusting the spring, but it would be nice if the end of the spring was held in the correct position better. As I said, a little joke. I had an olive with a slightly larger pit that didn't go through the hole in the lower jaw, the hole came out far enough that I could finish the job by removing the olive and using the tip of a knife to remove the pit . During a few cans of olives, it was the only "backfire". This is certainly better than crushing the olives with the flat of a knife, making them suitable for tapenades or similar, but not for stuffing and/or use on a vegetable tray. As one reviewer mentioned, a piece of fruit the same diameter as the pit is removed along with the pit, leaving a pit-sized hole in one end, just like you see with pitted olives that you can buy in jars . While it may seem undesirable, it does provide an opening for other foods to "stuff" in, such as peppers, garlic, blue cheese, etc. Overall I'm happy with it and would recommend it.