How to Pit Black Olives

Learn how to pit olives.

While people often use whole olives as an appetizer, according to Fine Cooking.com, the use of olives in stews, tapenades and other dishes requires the olives to be pitted. Removing the pit can be easy or challenging depending on the type of olive. For example, green olives often require extra force to remove the pit. Most black olives are softer, and the pits are easier to remove. However, there are a few tricks for pitting an olive should you have difficulty.

Things You'll Need

• Cutting board
• Chef's knife

Instructions

1. Squeeze the olive gently, but firmly, between your thumb and forefinger. Depending on the olive's firmness the pit should slip right out. This can be done with several varieties of black olives, including brine-cured black lives such as Gaeta. Shriveled oil and salt-cured olives also take only a little work to pit.

2. Place the olive on a cutting board and use the side of a heavy chef's knife to remove the pit if squeezing them is unsuccessful. Give the olive a firm whack with the flat side of the knife. This will cause the olive to split open, making the pit easy to remove.

3. Place the olive on a cutting board and flatten it with your thumb, which is another method of pit removal. This should cause the flesh of the olive to crack and the pit can be either squeezed or pulled out.

Tips & Warnings

• Wipe the chef's knife with a clean cloth frequently following olive pit removal to avoid a greasy, slippery knife.

• If you need to pit many olives, it might be helpful to purchase an olive pitter, rather than pit them all by hand.

References

• Fine Cooking: Pitting Olives Without Frustration

Resources

• The Cook's Thesaurus: Olives