Large Industrial Grade Pitters and Stuffers
Semi-Automated olive pitter
Hand held olive pitter
What's in the pit?

page last updated: 04/06/2008

Many who grow for the olive oil industry have considered table olives as a sideline.  We have gotten inquiries about the machinery involved.  Have you ever wondered how the pimento or anchovy gets into the olive?  No, it's not slave labor or trained monkeys but highly sophisticated equipment which makes the vast majority of  these stuffed olives.

Sadrym Olive Pitter and stuffer - housing is pulled open to see mechanism

Most of this machinery is made around Seville, Spain and sold world wide.  The machines are designed for a certain size of olive and can pit only or pit and stuff simultaneously.  A plug the diameter of the pit is cut in one end as the pit is pushed out by an x shaped punch on the other end.  The stuffing is usually made in large sheets of a gelatin like material which is cut in strips and then fed into the machine in rolls.  Even more sophisticated machines will cut the plug of olive flesh off the pit and re-insert it after the olive is stuffed, capping the olive so the contents can't spill out.

Olive pitting and stuffing line in Seville

Sadrym is one of the leading manufacturers and provides machines worldwide. On a tour of their factory the intricate workings of the machinery was explained then demonstrated at a large canning line nearby. Machines were busy stuffing olives with anchovy, the most popular filling in Spain. Large canning operations in Spain often have dozens of pitters. Machines are available in several sizes and speeds.

Technical challenges in the making of these machines included 100% accuracy in removing pits (for liability reasons) and jam prevention. The pitter blades eventually get dull and need to be replaced along with specialized bushings, otherwise maintenance is minimal. Many smaller California growers who can't justify these machines still use hand labor. Hand stuffing is also still the norm for harder fillings  which can't be produced in sheets and ribbons,  such as nut meats.

For information on importing pitters and stuffers, contact the Olive Oil Source at 805-688-1014

Gadgets like this one can pit cherries or olives as fast as you can load them in the hopper.  They run $25 to $75 depending on how sophisticated and sturdy. We do not sell these - find them on the web or at a kitchen gadget store.

Small pitters are usually dual use for olives or cherries. They cost anywhere from $5 - $15 at a supermarket or kitchen gadget store.

Olive pits are equivalent to a hard wood with cellulose and lignin predominating, the two most abundant organic materials on Earth.  You may hear about "olive pit oil" which is oil recovered from the "pomace" or waste from olive oil pressing. The oil does not actually come from the pit but the residual flesh found with the pit fragments.