Fresh from the tree, olives are tremendously bitter, to the point that the people who originally went to the trouble of learning how to treat them must have been extraordinarily hungry. To draw out the bitterness you'll have to soak them, either in brine or in a solution of lye, or a combination of the two. Here we cure them with lye.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) freshly picked green olives
- 3/4 ounce (20) grams crystalline ly
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 ounces (80 g) salt
Preparation:
This is from Calabria, and requires a certain amount of care: Lye is extremely caustic, and will burn you badly if you splash yourself with it. So wear gloves and be careful not to get any in your eyes. The olives will be fine if you rinse them well at the end of the curing.
Bring a pint (500 ml) of water to a boil in an iron pot, and dissolve the lye in it. Be careful when you add the lye, because it can spit and foam. Put a second pint of water in a large glass jar and dilute it with the lye solution. Add the olives and soak them until they have softened and the olive pulp comes away from the pits easily. Rinse the olives repeatedly, then wash out the jar and return them to it. Bring a quart of water to a boil with the salt and the bay leaves, let it cool, and pour the brine over the olives. Store them, covered, in a cool dark place, use them when they're ready -- I'd let them soak for about a month.
As an alternate method, you can use wood ash, ideally from olive wood. In this case, you'll want 8 ounces (200 g) of ash instead of the lye; bring a quart of water to boil in a non-reactive pot, stir in the ashes, and let the mixture sit for 24 hours. Drain off the water and mix the olives into the paste; add water to cover and let them soak for 30 days. Rinse them well and soak them overnight in cold water. Rinse them well again, and soak them again overnight.
On the second day drain the olives and transfer them to a jar. Prepare the brine discussed above, add it to the olives, and store them in a cool dark place.
Yield: Several jars of cured olives.
Bring a pint (500 ml) of water to a boil in an iron pot, and dissolve the lye in it. Be careful when you add the lye, because it can spit and foam. Put a second pint of water in a large glass jar and dilute it with the lye solution. Add the olives and soak them until they have softened and the olive pulp comes away from the pits easily. Rinse the olives repeatedly, then wash out the jar and return them to it. Bring a quart of water to a boil with the salt and the bay leaves, let it cool, and pour the brine over the olives. Store them, covered, in a cool dark place, use them when they're ready -- I'd let them soak for about a month.
As an alternate method, you can use wood ash, ideally from olive wood. In this case, you'll want 8 ounces (200 g) of ash instead of the lye; bring a quart of water to boil in a non-reactive pot, stir in the ashes, and let the mixture sit for 24 hours. Drain off the water and mix the olives into the paste; add water to cover and let them soak for 30 days. Rinse them well and soak them overnight in cold water. Rinse them well again, and soak them again overnight.
On the second day drain the olives and transfer them to a jar. Prepare the brine discussed above, add it to the olives, and store them in a cool dark place.
Yield: Several jars of cured olives.
