OXO Cherry & Olive Pitter: Removable Splatter Shield

A bowl of cherries turns into a sticky project quickly when every pit needs a paring knife, paper clip, or improvised chopstick. The OXO Good Grips Cherry & Olive Pitter is built around a simpler motion: place the fruit in the cup, squeeze the handles, and drive a metal plunger through the center while a removable shield catches some of the spray.

That makes it less about owning another novelty tool and more about whether you pit enough cherries or olives for the faster one-handed rhythm to matter.

The cup solves the alignment problem

The useful part of this design is the holder at the front. OXO gives it a generous cup for large cherries such as Bing and Rainier, plus a recessed area intended to steady smaller cherries and many olives.

That means you are not balancing round fruit on a cutting board while trying to aim a knife around the pit. The cup gives the fruit a repeatable place to sit before the plunger comes down.

Alignment still matters. A cherry can be misshapen, unusually small, or softer than the last one, so the tool is not a guarantee that every pit will exit perfectly centered. Check the fruit after each squeeze when a broken pit would matter in a pie, jam, or dish for children.

The splatter shield is small but practical

Cherry juice is the part of pitting that makes a fast job messy. OXO adds a clear removable splatter shield around the exit side of the tool to help contain juice as the pit is pushed through.

It does not turn the process into a sealed system, so a bowl or washable work surface still makes sense. The benefit is simply that the shield puts a barrier between the fruit and your shirt, counter, or backsplash during repeated squeezes.

Because the shield removes, it can be rinsed separately instead of trapping pulp around the metal plunger. That is a better ownership detail than a fixed guard that would be difficult to reach during cleanup.

The handle matters when you are doing a whole batch

The pitter uses a pressure-absorbing, non-slip Good Grips handle around a die-cast zinc body. That gives your hand a broad squeezing surface instead of forcing your fingertips onto a thin piece of metal.

For one or two cherries, the difference is minor. For a pie, preserves, fruit salad, or cocktail garnish prep, repeated squeezes are where the handle becomes part of the buying decision.

The spring-loaded plunger is still a mechanical tool with a metal point, so keep fingers out of the cup and plunger path. Let the holder position the fruit rather than trying to steady it with fingertips during the squeeze.

Lock it closed when the season is over

A single-purpose tool has to justify its storage. OXO includes a locking mechanism that keeps the handles closed when the pitter is not in use, which reduces the space it occupies in a drawer.

The tool is also dishwasher safe according to OXO, and the splatter shield removes for easier cleaning. That is useful after cherry juice or olive brine has worked into the front of the tool.

Still, the best time to rinse it is before fruit residue dries around the cup and plunger. A dishwasher-safe label does not make sticky fruit pulp disappear if it has been left in place for hours.

Buy it for batches, not for two cherries

This pitter makes the most sense for cooks who turn seasonal cherries into pies, preserves, sauces, fruit salads, or frozen portions, or who regularly prep olives for salads, pizza, tapenade, or drinks.

If you pit only a few pieces of fruit once or twice a year, the tool may spend more time locked in a drawer than it saves at the counter. A small knife or another method you already use may be enough.

But if the job repeats by the bowlful, the OXO’s combination of a shaped fruit cup, one-squeeze plunger, removable splatter shield, and locking handle is exactly the kind of focused kitchen gadget that can earn a permanent spot.