Hanne Blank's 2010 collection of tips for using everyday household objects instead of expensive kitchen gadgets is full of great advice, like using bent hairpins to pit olives and cherries.
The kitchen gadgets I use most often tend to be things that I don't think other people even think of as "gadgets." They're not even very gadget-y. They're just things that make good kitchen tools, and perform very very well in the roles in which I use them. They're mostly little, unglamorous, and inexpensive, and while I inherited one of them, I have never received anything in this line as a gift and probably never will. Why not? Well, a dollar box of wire hairpins does not exactly make a splash as a hostess gift.
U-bend metal hairpins are the best cherry pitters around, at least if you're only doing a pie's worth or so. They also work pretty well on ripe olives (they're not sturdy enough for use on green olives) and for hulling strawberries. You can buy a package of a hundred for about a dollar at a beauty supply store, and that will last you years and years.
The Things That Earn Their Keep
(via Lifehacker)
