Pit an Olive for Stuffing
While eating the olive around the pit provides the juiciest, most potent flavor, some recipes, such as stuffed olives, call for pit removal. Unfortunately, there's no perfect method to pit an olive for stuffing. There are two methods you can use: spiraling, or squashing. The first method is more precise, but slow and somewhat time-consuming. The second method is extremely fast, but can sometimes ruin the olive's structure for stuffing.
Instructions
Spiralling Olives
1. Rinse the olives off and pat dry with a paper towel. Using an extremely sharp knife, make a small incision at the top of the olive, where the stem originally was.
2. Spiral the knife slowly around the length of the olive, as if you were peeling an apple. Try to spiral your knife as close to the pit as possible.
3. Reposition your spiral into the shape of an olive. If you made a nice, tight spiral, it should be able to form the shape of an olive, however hollow.
Squashing
4. Rinse the olives and pat dry with a paper towel. Lay the olive horizontally on its side. Place the dough scraper or pastry cutter or flat side of a knife directly on top of the olive.
5. Carefully slam your fist down on top of the dough scraper or pastry cutter or flat side of a knife until you hear the olive pop and you see the pit pop out.
6. Reposition the olive into its original shape in order to stuff it. There might be a split running length-wise through the olive, but that will make it easier to stuff.
Tags: cutter flat, cutter flat side, dough scraper, dough scraper pastry, flat side