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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 17579
Location: Hereford
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 Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:51 pm Post subject: Olives. |
 
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I seem to have quite a large crop all of a sudden. So, what do I do with them? I won't be stuffing with tuna, but can turn them into edibleness somehow? |
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Bebo
Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 6087
Location: East Sussex
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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Don't they have to be brined for 28 days to reduce the bitterness enough to make them edible? |
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28918
Location: North Devon
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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I think that you need to brine them first. Then do whatever else you want to with them. Doesn't Mark wossname on RC grow them? Might be worth PM/emailing him? |
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 17579
Location: Hereford
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Don't know.  (@Bebo) |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13944
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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when you find out, would you take a couple of pics of the before, during and after stages, would make a very useful article as I'm sure most of us have no idea what to do should our olive trees in pots ever fruit  |
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 17579
Location: Hereford
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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Sure. I bought a tree yesterday, and it's full of the wee purple ones. Very pleased.
I wanted a larger one, but at £200+ they didn't even hit their reserve, so I lost interest. Not my bids, by the way. |
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28918
Location: North Devon
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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A quick scuzz at the Oxford Companion to Food seems to suggest that there are lots of techniques. (Some involving caustic soda  ) And that what you need to do depends a bit on what sort of olives you're starting with and where you're aiming to get to. You need to find an Italian peasant and ask him I reckon. |
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Bebo
Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 6087
Location: East Sussex
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Bebo
Joined: 21 May 2007
Posts: 6087
Location: East Sussex
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 17579
Location: Hereford
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| Posted: Sun Nov 15, 09 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Bebo. A handy starting point! |
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 17579
Location: Hereford
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earthyvirgo
Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 1915
Location: in the loft, Gerlan
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| Posted: Mon Nov 16, 09 9:15 am Post subject: Re: Olives. |
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| Nick wrote: |
| I seem to have quite a large crop all of a sudden. So, what do I do with them? ....... |
Send them to me. I'm an olive addict
| Nick wrote: |
| won't be stuffing with tuna, but can turn them into edibleness somehow? |
Once they're ready to eat of course 
EV |
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wellington womble
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 11336
Location: Bucks
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| Posted: Mon Nov 16, 09 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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I've got a book by an Italian peasant. It's something like put the olives in water with enough salt in to make them sink, and leave then for forty days. I'll check it. |
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wellington womble
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 11336
Location: Bucks
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 09 9:33 pm Post subject: Olives |
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From 'Extra Virgin' by Annie Hawes - about Italian Peasants, not by one. Can't vouch for quality, but reading it always makes my mouth water.
First leave your olives for four days under plain water, changing it every day. Now put them in a big jar or pot with just enough cold water to cover them, add whatever gusti you fancy - thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, garlic. You can add a chunk of lemon if you like. Olives, being full of oil, will try to float on the surface of the water, you must add just enough salt to make them sink. Too little salt, and the top layer will be in contact with the air, making the whole jarful go off instead of pickling nicely. On the other hand, too much salt in a olive is horrible, so you must keep stirring, letting the salt dissolve completely before you check for float-or-sink. Now you lightly cover the jar, nothing airtight, while the olives soak up the brine and the flavours, and lose their bitterness in the process. Forty days, and four salt water changes later, your olives are ready for eating - or for sealing in airtight jars to be stored for the rest of the year.
Hope it's not too late - it's not a proper recipe book (no index) so it took a while to find it. |
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