Preserving Green Olives

[Colin from Wallan]

I’m trying to cure my own green olives but after soaking in fresh water for 4 weeks they are still quite bitter.

The recipe I was following calls for fresh water, not salted water because they are green olives.

The olives have had the tips cut and they no longer float in the water or leave any sediment on the top of the water.

Does this mean they are ready for the bottling with olive oil or does the bitterness mean they need further soaking?

Thanks for your advice and help.

Cheers
Colin from Wallan

 

[larry_stewart]

From my ( very limited experience) a very old Italian friend told me to slightly crush the green olives, soak them in a pound of salt dissolved in a gallon of water ( changing out the water every few days) for about 3 weeks or so.

At that point, you then soak them in plain water for a few days ( to get the saltiness out), and then you can put them in olive oil, with whatever spices you want.

Ive only done it 4 or 5 times over the past 4 or 5 years ( as they are only available to me in the fall), so by no means am i an expert.

What amazed me the most , was not that the end product was so great, but that I was actually able to get rid of most the bitterness.

Whoever was the first person to bite into a green olive and realize they can do something to make it taste good, was either very lucky or a true visionary genius, cause its one of the most bitter miserable things to bite into.

 

[Colin from Wallan]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for your feedback.

I'm going to try and soak them in salt water for a week and then going to see how they go.

I whole heartedly agree, how did they come up with the idea and making a fruit that is completely unpalatable and turn it around.

Personally I think they arsed it but then took full credit when they came up tasting amazing. lol

Thanks for your feedback again.

Enjoy your upcoming summer, we're about to hit winter and I'm not looking forward to it.

Cheers
Colin

 

[larry_stewart]

If you get positive results, let me know, Im always looking for new or better ways to do things.