Cure Olives

Cured olives are some of the most delicious foods from ancient and modern times. Salty and tart, they can be enjoyed in almost any dish. That is, when they are cured. Uncured, olives are extremely bitter and sour tasting, not pleasant at all. While most people simply buy their olives precured, some people still grow their own. With a supply of uncured olives, of course, there is a demand for the ability to cure olives. While it takes quite a long time, curing is actually quite simple.

Water Curing: Best for Larger Green Olives

 * 1) Inspect the olives. Make sure that they are as unbruised as possible, and that nothing has eaten out of them. If you use chemicals on your olive trees, gently wash them before beginning.
 * 2) Break the fruit. You can do this with a wooden mallet or, more commonly, a rolling pin. Just smack the little things, don't be afraid, but, of course, you want to keep the olives as whole as possible. You want the flesh torn, you don't want it to get mashed or to rip into several different pieces, or for the pit to get damaged.
 * 3) Place the olives in cold water. Completely cover all of the olives, make sure none are poking out. This can be done in a pan. You may need to weigh them down with something. At least once a day, change out the water with fresh, cold water. Make sure you don't forget, otherwise bacteria could build up in the water.
 * 4) Wait. This will be the hardest part of the curing process. For about a month, switch out the water daily, and don't touch the olives again. After the first week of the waiting process, you will probably want to taste one. The bitterness could already be gone by this time, but it is unlikely. Just keep waiting until the olives don't taste bitter any longer.

Brine Curing: Best for Red or Black Olives

 * 1) Cut the olives. Make a vertical cut down the olive using a sharp knife; make sure not to cut the pit.
 * 2) Place the olives in a brine. Brine is made of salt and water. One-fourth of a cup of salt to one quart of water is fine, but it varies depending on who you ask. Make sure the pan they are in is deep enough so that no olives are poking out.
 * 3) Cover the pan.
 * 4) Wait. Once again, this will be the hardest part of the curing process. This time, though, only shake the pan daily. Don't change out the brine that often; once a week is fine. This can take up to six weeks or more depending on what type of olive you are using; somewhere around three weeks is a good time to start tasting the olives for bitterness.
 * 5) Jar the olives. Once they taste good, remove the olives from the old brine. Make a new batch of brine, and fill jars with it. Put the olives in the jars, and top off the jars with four tablespoons red wine vinegar, and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. They should keep for a very long time if properly stored.

Dry Curing: Best for Mission, Kalamata, Ascolano, or Smaller Olives with Fully-Ripe Fruit

 * 1) Locate a wooden fruit crate, or the newer styrofoam grape crate. Make sure if you use the styrofoam grape crates that the crates have drains and air slots These crates should be about six inches deep. The wooden crates are normally with just two slats on each side, with a gap of about an inch between the slats. Whichever type of crate used, line the entire crate with burlap, including the sides, and staple/nail/tack it to the top. Alternately you can line the crate with cheesecloth, old sheets or cloth napkins as long as there is enough fabric to keep the salt contained and to absorb any liquids which may drip from the crate.  Place the crate outside, preferably on cement that you don't care much about. Prepare a second crate identical to this one.
 * 2) Wash the olives. Simple enough; just a light wash to remove anything that might have stuck to the fruit. Lay them out to dry.
 * 3) Weigh the olives (optional). For every two pounds of olives that you have, you will need one pound of salt (make sure the salt is not iodized, and that it is a fine-grain salt - kosher salt is great). Obviously, that will probably be a lot of salt. Mix the two together, and dump the mixture into your fruit crate. Alternately put a layer of salt in the crate followed by a layer of olives and covered with a layer of salt - repeat until all olives are covered.
 * 4) Wait a week.
 * 5) Dump the contents of the crate into the second crate. Shake well, and pour back into the original box. This should ensure an even coating of salt, and allow you to see any damaged or rotten olives. Remove these, they'll not be good to eat later. Any olives with white circular patches (probably a fungus) should be removed. The fungus often starts at the stem end of the olive. Check the olives to make sure that they are beginning to cure evenly.  If an olive has shriveled areas and plump areas, you may want to dampen the olive prior to repacking in salt - this will encourage the plump area to start shriveling.
 * 6) Repeat every three days to a week. The olives should take about a month to six weeks to become cured depending on the size of the olive. When cured, they will be shriveled and smaller, not much like the jarred olives you buy at the grocery store.
 * 7) Strain the mixture. You can just pick the olives out of the salt, wiping it off before you eat them. Otherwise, get a colander to sift out the salt.
 * 8) Boil some water.
 * 9) Dunk the strained olives into the water for just a few seconds (up to 30 seconds - this melts the natural waxy covering on the olives and seals the fruit.)
 * 10) Dry the olives overnight (on paper towels or cloth napkins). Put them out of reach of animals or little children, though; a month's work can go to waste if an idle bump sends them scattering.
 * 11) Add salt (optional step). About a pound of salt for every ten pounds of olives should be fine. This is the last step; now all you have to do is store the olives in a cool, dry place. They should last for about a month this way- put them in the refrigerator if you want them for longer than that. You can also mix the olives with extra-virgin olive oil and spice to taste.  Refrigerate the olives. Dry (salt) cured olives are great for tapenades!

Lye Curing: Best for Large Olives, such as Sevillano

 * 1) Take precautions when working with lye. Lye can cause burns. Wear chemical-resistant gloves and safety glasses whenever you're working with lye, and don't use an olive vat made of plastic (Nalgene vats are acceptable) or anything made out of metal (even lids - the lye dissolves metal, especially aluminium, and this affects the taste of the olives, and may be toxic). See Tips and Warnings.
 * 2) Immerse cleaned olives in a solution of food-grade lye (2 tablespoons flake lye in 1 qt water) for 12 hours. Leave the largest olives near the top, so you can access them easily later.
 * 3) Replace the lye solution and repeat. Some people prefer to use a weaker lye solution for the second immersion.
 * 4) Check for lye penetration. While wearing chemical-resistant gloves, pick a few of the largest olives. If they are easy to cut to the pit, with soft, yellowish green flesh, the olives are ready.
 * 5) Soak the olives in water for 3 days. Change the water at least 4 times a day.
 * 6) Taste test on the fourth day. If it's sweet and fatty, with no bitterness, proceed to the next step.
 * 7) Immerse in a light brine for a week. A good solution for this purpose is 6 tbsp. salt in a gallon of water.

Tips

 * For brine, the mixture should be about right when you can place a raw egg in the shell into the brine and it will float.
 * The brine solution can be saturated by boiling the water and salt mixture and letting it cool before adding the olives.
 * Shriveled olives will regain some plumpness if marinated in olive oil for a few days.
 * Be sure to use only food-grade lye to cure olives. Never use drain openers or oven cleaners to cure olives (as a source of lye, that is).
 * Lye burns should be treated by running them under fresh tap water for 15 minutes and then consulting a physician. Never try to neutralized a lye burn with lemon juice or vinegar; mixing acids and bases can be dangerous.

Warnings

 * Scum may form at the surface of the brine. It isn't harmful as long as the olives are fully submerged, but it should be removed when it forms.
 * Do not use the lye curing method if children might come anywhere near the olives or the solution.
 * Do not taste the olives while they are soaking in lye, wait until the 3 day period with water is up before testing.

Things You'll Need

 * Olives
 * Water
 * Salt
 * Certified food-grade lye, chemical-resistant gloves, and safety glasses
 * Two wooden or styrofoam crates
 * Untorn burlap, cheesecloth, sheets, or cloth napkins
 * Red wine vinegar
 * Olive oil

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make Greek Whole Grain Olive Bread
 * How to Choose Olive Oil
 * How to Brew Cheap Wine
 * How to Make Flavored Oils
 * How to Make Sweet Onion Marmalade