Got about 9lbs of black olives - any ideas on simple preserving methods?
Clara x.
Olives
G'Day Clara!
In her book "Backyard Self Sufficiency" Jackie French has a recipe for "Quick-Preserves Olives". While I have not tried this, Jackies stuff is usually pretty spot on.
"Take either black or green olives. Either take the stones out or prick them all over with a fork: as many holes as possible.Cover them with slightly salty water.........., and quickly bring to the boil. Take them off the heat immediately.Leave them in water overnight. The next morning drain off the water, cover with fresh, non-salty water and leave for about 2 hours. Then change the water again. Repeat this for three days, changing the water at least four times a day.
Take the olives out of the water and wash them thoroughly under running water. Now place them in a marinade. I use half olive oil, half lemon juice, a lot of chopped garlic and whatever herbs I fancy at the time - Basil, tarragon,and marjoram are all good. leave the olives in a cool place (but not the fridge) for 24 hours and they are ready for eating."
also, from the same book -
Greek method of curing olives
"Place your olives in a wicker basket or an old fruit box with holes in the bottom. The holes will let the brine run out as the olives are cured. Cover the olives with a finger-thick layer of rock salt or, when there are a lot of lives, with alternative layers of of olives and rock salt. Leave the olives in a cool place for 24 hours. Now put gloves on and mix the salt and olives thoroughly by hand. Do this once a day until the olives look wrinkled. Add more alt if necessary. The whole process will take about 6 weeks and by then most of the bitterness form the olives will ave been absorbed by the salt.
The olives can be stored in fresh rock salt, or better still, washed thoroughly to remove the salty taste ans then stored in olive oilwith or without some chopped garlic, chilli and oregano"
Hope this helps
Nev
In her book "Backyard Self Sufficiency" Jackie French has a recipe for "Quick-Preserves Olives". While I have not tried this, Jackies stuff is usually pretty spot on.
"Take either black or green olives. Either take the stones out or prick them all over with a fork: as many holes as possible.Cover them with slightly salty water.........., and quickly bring to the boil. Take them off the heat immediately.Leave them in water overnight. The next morning drain off the water, cover with fresh, non-salty water and leave for about 2 hours. Then change the water again. Repeat this for three days, changing the water at least four times a day.
Take the olives out of the water and wash them thoroughly under running water. Now place them in a marinade. I use half olive oil, half lemon juice, a lot of chopped garlic and whatever herbs I fancy at the time - Basil, tarragon,and marjoram are all good. leave the olives in a cool place (but not the fridge) for 24 hours and they are ready for eating."
also, from the same book -
Greek method of curing olives
"Place your olives in a wicker basket or an old fruit box with holes in the bottom. The holes will let the brine run out as the olives are cured. Cover the olives with a finger-thick layer of rock salt or, when there are a lot of lives, with alternative layers of of olives and rock salt. Leave the olives in a cool place for 24 hours. Now put gloves on and mix the salt and olives thoroughly by hand. Do this once a day until the olives look wrinkled. Add more alt if necessary. The whole process will take about 6 weeks and by then most of the bitterness form the olives will ave been absorbed by the salt.
The olives can be stored in fresh rock salt, or better still, washed thoroughly to remove the salty taste ans then stored in olive oilwith or without some chopped garlic, chilli and oregano"
Hope this helps
Nev
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Our website on living more sustainably in the suburbs! - http://www.underthechokotree.com/