Pitting Olives

So many recipes call for pitted black olives, and it usually isn't an issue to find pitted Kalamata olives at the antipasto bar of most grocery stores.  But what about when they ONLY have black olives with pits in them?  You either have to suck it up and "fillet" the tiny olives by slicing around the pit... or pick a new recipe.  I wouldn't think of using canned black olives.

However, there's a trick to pitting olives which will make the tedious task infinitely easier.  Taking one olive at a time, position the heel of your hand over the flat edge of a wide knife and gently press down on the olive (be careful as they can splash!).  This will break the olive and create an opening around the pit, which you can then easily tear out.

It's not the most important cooking technique to know, I'll admit, but it's one I've used countless times.