olives

Here, I will be writing about the process of making brine cured olives. I previously wrote about the process of making dry salt cured olives. Dry salted cured olives are some of my favorite types of olives, but some people are less partial to them due to their increased bitterness and strong taste compared to their brine cured counterparts. As you can see, there are some distinct differences in brine cured olives (top) and dry salt cured olives (bottom):

Here, I will detail the process of using a brine cure to cure olives. This method takes longer than dry salt curing olives, but is able to leach away more of the bitterness. It is a fermentation process, so if you have a fermentation jug or set up, now is a good time to use it. Otherwise, any vessel should do, just make sure to cover the top loosely to avoid contamination with outside sources and to allow for gas release. CO2 will be released during the fermentation process, and can cause problems if not given an outlet.

Method: Similar to the salt cured method, I used black olives. The first step is to sort them for deformities, and wash the pile of good olives, and dry them off.

Then, the olives will be stored in an appropriate container. Add a medium strength brine (.75 cups per gallon of cool water) to cover them. I used a fermentation jug, and two mason jars with fermentation air lock set ups.

Allow the olives to sit in the initial medium strength brine for 1 week at room temperatures (60-80 F).

After 1 week, pour out the olives and the medium strength brine.

Put the olives back into their containers, and cover the olives in a strong brine (1.5 cups of salt per gallon of cool water).

In the following picture, you can see the color (and bitter compounds) being leached out by the consecutive brine changes. On the left, the olives are in their initial brine solution, on the right, they have had their brine solution changed out. They are noticeably lighter on the right.

Every month, replace the brine solution with a new strong brine solution (1.5 cups of salt per gallon of cool water).

Keep this up until the olives are to your liking. The longer they cure, and the more brine changes that are done, the less bitter that they will be.

After 2-3 months, the olives are generally ready for consumption.

To store the olives: Leave the olives in a cool, dark place in a strong brine to store them (up to 12 months) in an airtight container. I used a mason jar with a vacuum sealed top.

To eat the olives: Soak in water over night (optional) to decrease the saltiness of the olives. Toss in olive oils and herbs, and serve at room temperature.

Resources:

http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8267.pdf

Have you ever tried a raw olive off of an olive tree? It makes me wonder how anyone ever unlocked the key to these bitter fruits. In the Mediterranean region in particular, olive trees abound. One taste of a raw olive directly off the tree would be enough to set anyone off the fruit entirely. However, at some point in history, it was discovered that it was possible to use salt and brine solutions to store the olive harvest as well as to leach away the bitter compounds, oleuropeins. And so, our love affair with olives and olive oil began.

In the beginning of the season, olives are green. As they spend more time on the tree, they darken and become black. Both green and black olives can be cured.

I have been interested in curing my own olives for a while now, but geographically, I don’t have access to olive trees. This year, I placed an order with a farm in California, and received 17 lbs of black olives.

I decided to cure the majority using a brine method, and the rest using a dry salt cured method.

Methods: In this post, I will be discussing the dry salt cured method of preserving olives.

First, you have the raw black olives. You want to sort them for deformities, and wash the pile of good olives, and dry them off.

After you have sorted the good olives from the bad olives, weigh the olives that you have. Mix the olives to salt in a 2:1 ratio (aka for 2 lbs for olives, mix in 1 lb of salt). Mix them thoroughly.

Next, you want to set up a container to hold the salt and olives for the next 6-8 weeks at room temperature (60-80 F). I used a cheese mold lined in cheesecloth that worked out well.

Pour the olives into the container, cover with a new layer of salt, and lay the tails of the cheesecloth over the olive and salt mixture.

Once a week, re-mix this mixture by pouring the olives and salt into another container, mixing it around, and pouring it back into the cheesecloth lined cheese mold.

After 6-8 weeks, the olives are most likely ready.

Pour the olives out over a sieve to get rid of the extra salt, and allow them to dry overnight.

To store the olives: Make a 10:1 ratio of olives to salt (aka 10 lbs of olives to 1 lb of salt). Mix this together, and store in an airtight container at room temperature (use within 1 month), in the refrigerator (use within 6 months), or in the freezer (use within 12 months).

I stored mine in a mason jar that I sealed using a vacuum sealer, and they are now safely stored in the fridge.

To eat the olives: Take the olives out of storage, and boil them for a few minutes (optional step). Allow them to air dry, and soak them in olive oil with herbs. I have found that they are best if they are allowed to marinate in the olive oil and herbs at least overnight if not longer.

Resources:

http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8267.pdf

Brine Cured Olives

Dry Salt Cured Olives