In a pan, soak the olives in brine (1 part sea salt to 10 parts water). Make sure the olives are submerged (use something to weight them down) and cover. Cure the olives for 3 weeks, shaking the pan each day and changing the brine each week, then taste for bitterness.
Born in the eponymous city in Southern Greece, Kalamata olives sport a gorgeous lilac hue and boast a rich flavor even when freshly-picked. Therefore, they produce premium olive oil. The cured fruits are usually immersed in wine vinegar or olive oil for a rich and meaty texture. Kalamatas ready for consumption.
Sicilian and Kalamata olives have similar curing methods. Sicilian olives are soaked in salt and lactic acid for one year. The same process, minus the lactic acid is used to cure Kalamata olives, as well as Amphissa, Niçoise, Picholine, Cerignola and Gaeta olives.
Curing the Olives
For a brine-cure, place the prepared olives in a mixture of 1 part salt to 10 parts water, making sure they're submerged, and leave for 3 to 6 weeks, changing the brine every week and shaking the pan once a day.
Brine-curing is easy, but takes a long time. You make a brine of 1/4 cup kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal) to 4 cups water, plus 1/2 cup of vinegar: white wine, cider or simple white vinegar. Submerge the olives in this brine and top with cheesecloth or something else to keep them underwater. Do not cut them.
Pour the salted water over the olives etc until they are well covered. Seal the container. Store in a cool place and keep the container sealed for 6-8 weeks for black olives, and 8-10 weeks for green olives. Open and taste, if the olives are still bitter, leave the to cure for another week or so and test again.
To cure the olives, they need to rest in a saltwater brine for a few months. You need a 3:1 ratio of olives to saltwater brine. For example, for every full bucket of olives, you'll need about a third of a bucket of brine. Find a food-grade container or bucket/s large enough to fit all your olives.
Harvested olives must be “cured” to remove the bitterness in order to make them palatable. The most common curing processes use brine, dry salt, water, or lye treatments. During these curing processes the water-soluble oleuropein compound is leached out of the olive flesh.
The Romans invented curing olives with lye. They obtained lye from wood ashes.
They are cured in salt. The oil comes next.
The name “Greek olives” is most often associated with Kalamata black olives. However, there are several different types of olives that are famously cultivated in Greece.
If your olives get exposed to air, they can develop a white film. It is the healthy lactobacillus probiotic bacteria from the fermentation process. It is perfectly normal and safe to eat.
Olives are typically high in salt due to the fact that they are cured or packaged in brine or salt water, containing about 0.6g salt per five olives.
These olives are cured using a closely guarded family secret. The process behind these olives took years to develop to this superior standard, as there is no salt used in any part of the curing process.
Kalamata olives are rich in antioxidants, healthy fats and relatively low in carbs. Dare we say, they can be considered a 'superfood'!
When olives are brought in fresh they are treated with a solution of lye and fresh water in order to de-bitter the olives more rapidly. The olives are then washed completely before they begin the curing process in a natural brine.
There is extensive historical evidence for the use of sea water in curing olives [Palladius and Pliny, cited in 36], and it is traditionally still used in some Mediterranean regions36,47. Hishuley Carmel and Kfar Samir were both coastal settlements with easy access to salt and to sea water.
Raw olives were also used to make poultices directly from the tree as needed for medicinal purposes. To this day traditional Hellenic medicine is still practised by the older generation mostly in villages across Greece. Raw olives were most likely eaten mixed with wine or vinegar for maximum nutrition as well.
100% Pure Lye – also known as food-grade Sodium Hydroxide which speeds up the process of removing the bitterness from the olives, because it is incredibly alkalizing, which without it, would take weeks. Water. Salt.
Most Spanish table olives are cured at least in part with lye, but their process is far different than that used in to make the hideous Lindsay olive.
Olives are inedible before they are cured. Many people don't know that olives are actually inedible when they are first picked. Raw olives straight from the tree contain oleuropein, an extremely bitter compound that makes olives completely unpalatable.
Add 100ml vinegar or equivalent citric/acetic acid. Place a screen or plate on top of the liquid to ensure that all the olives are totally immersed and remain that way throughout the process. Loosely place the lid over the top but do not seal. Check olives from time to time, top up with fresh potable water if required.
If they are still too bitter, keep soaking them until you are happy with it. Once the bitterness has gone, it is time to jar up your olives in sterilised jars. I use a vinegar brine, at a ratio of 2:5:20 salt, vinegar, water.
A proper Greek salad typically contains olives with pits, so you should try this maneuver: "Place the olive in your mouth using your fork, eat around the pit, then discard the pit by pushing it onto the prongs of your fork using your tongue," Oldham says.
Their shelf-life can be pretty impressive, lasting anywhere from 12 to 18 months once opened and properly stored in the fridge, compared to the meager three days of dry olives — like those you can snag at the salad bar. Unopened, jarred olives will stay fresh for up to two years.