Curing Olives

Method 1

Slash or stamp each olive with the side of knife or board to make an opening, and then soak in cold water in earthenware or glass containers for 10 days, changing the water daily. Soak in a brine solution for 24 hours, then wash off the brine and soak for 24 hours in vinegar. Drain. Store in jars in olive oil. This method will preserve olives indefinitely. (If sourer olives are preferred, add a little vinegar to the oil).

Method 2

Choose red to dark red olives; slash them on one side with a very sharp stainless knife to reduce bruising. Place the olives in any non-metallic container. Make a solution of 1/4 cup salt dissolved in 1 quart water, and pour enough over the olives to immerse them. Make sure the olives are completely submerged in the solution. Store in a cool place, changing the solution once a week, for three weeks. Any scum that forms on the surface is harmless; just rinse the container and the olives in fresh water if some forms.
Taste one of the largest at the end of three weeks. If only slightly bitter (should still be a bit tangy), pour off the brine and rinse the olives. If still quite bitter, brine for another week.
Marinade for Olives (use same container)

1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 tbs salt dissolved in 2 cups water
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 lemon wedges
2 cloves garlic

Pour marinade over the olives and float enough olive oil to form a layer 1/4 inch on top. The olives will be ready to eat after sitting in the marinade for a few days. Store in a cool place or in fridge. (Warning: if kept too long, the lemon and vinegar flavours will predominate, so eat within a month after ready.)

Water Method

Cover washed olives with a solution of salt water - 1 cup salt to each quart water - in a crock or glass jar. Place a weight, such as a small plate or washed rock, to keep olives submerged. Olives may remain in this brine for months. Marinate in Olive Marinade before serving.

Note: not slashing the olives can result in a strong flavour.


Strongly Salted Olives

Wash and dry the olives. Place in a container in layers, alternating with dry rock or sea salt, using about 300 grams of salt per kilo of olives. Cover and leave for six months. The salt will extract liquid from the olives, leaving them shrivelled. Before eating the olives, rinse in plain water, or soak for a few hours. These olives have a much stronger taste than the first ones.

Lime Method

For each pound of olives you will need:

1 pound wood ash
1 1/2 ounces quick lime (Lime is caustic. Wear rubber gloves at all times while handling it, and, whatever you do, don't get it in your eyes.)
8 teaspoons salt
3 cups water

Make a slurry by mixing the lime, the ashes and the water. Immerse the olives in it, covering them with a weighted top that will keep them immersed in the slurry, and let them soak for twelve to fourteen hours, in other words, until they have become quite soft. Touch them frequently to check their progress. Some people check to see if the pulp of the olive comes free from the pit, but this indicator is sometimes wrong.

Remove the olives from the slurry, rinse them repeatedly, and soak them in fresh water for four or five days, changing the water three times a day, until the water comes clear and the olives lose their bitter taste. Once the olives have reached this stage, set three cups of water to heat on the fire with the salt and several slices of bulb fennel. Boil the water for several minutes, let it cool, pour it over the olives, and store the olives in a glass gar or glazed urn.
Water curing

Generally you water cure the big green ones, right before they turn red. You pick the olives, crack each of them with a rolling pin, then immerse them completely in cold water, changing the water *each* day for at least 25 days. Stir them up when you think about it. Immerse and change the water, etc, taste one after 25 days. If they are too bitter, keep up this regime until they are edible.

Brine Curing

Deeply slit each one using a sharp paring knife, then plunk them into a brine (brine is 1/4 cup canning salt in 1 qt water). Weight down the olives; make sure they are fully immersed. Cover your vat of olives, stir once in awhile, and wait one week. Rinse, and change the olive brine once/week for at least 3 weeks. Taste, if still too bitter, keep changing brine 1/week. Mine usually take about 6 weeks. Scum will form on the top of the vat; it’s harmless *if* olives are immersed, but get rid of it when you see it.

Water-cured Green Olives

Ingredients
5 pounds green mature olives
1-1/2 quarts water
3 tablespoons salt
2 lemons, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 cups white wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, crushed in a mortar
Olive Oil

Instructions

Crack the flesh of the olives with a rolling pin, or by hitting each one individually with a hammer. Rinse with cold water. Place them in a stoneware, earthenware, glass, or porcelain jar and cover with cold water. Weight them with a piece of wood or a plastic bag filled with water (to keep the olives submerged) and keep them in a dark, cool place for ten days, changing the water every day.
Boil the water and dissolve the salt in it. Empty the liquid from the jar in which the olives have been soaking; rinse the olives in cold water and cover the olives with the salt brine. Mix in the lemons, oregano, vinegar, garlic, and cumin. Float enough olive oil on top to cover the surface. Store in a cool place at least two weeks. To make a more interesting mixture, add a few store-bought Kalamata olives. Store in a cool, dark place. The olives keep quite well for at least two months.

Onoria’s Recipe

In a 5 gallon plastic pail, dissolve 6 ounces of lye in about ½ gallon of warm water. Add about ½ gallon of cold water and stir. Rinse 1 case (18 pounds) of olives in cold water and add to the pail containing the lye solution. Add enough cold water to completely cover the olives. Stir by transferring the olives back and forth several times in 2 plastic pails. To keep the olives submerged, weigh them down with a piece of wood or a plastic bag filled with water and let them sit for 10-12 hours. Drain and rinse the olives several times. Soak in cold water for 4 days. Change the water three (or more) times a day. At the end of 4 days, taste and soaks longer if still bitter. Fill one quart canning jars with the olives, add 1 teaspoon of pickling salt and fill with cold water. Seal and shake to dissolve the salt. Place the jars in boiling water and process for 5 to 6 minutes.

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I created this blog to share my experience and knowledge with you. I have been collecting information for a long time, my collection has become so large that I decided to share it with you. I hope that you find this site informative enough to visit it again.