Cure your own OLIVES

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO CURE OLIVES THE GREEK WAY

You'll need a wooden box about six inches deep-the kind that fruits and vegetables are often shipped in-that you can probably get free at the local produce market. You'll also have to round up a piece of burlap cloth big enough to cover the inside bottom and sides of the container. Use clean, new burlap if possible-enough to do the job will cost you less than a dollar at the local dry goods store-and bring the material up the sides and tack it along the top edges, so the olives won't fall through the open slots in the sides and bottom.

After your curing box is ready, you'll want to lay in a good supply of salt about three-fourths as much, by weight, as the amount of olives you plan to cure.

AND, OF COURSE, OLIVES

Ali, yes the olives. Gathering them may be a slight problem if climbing trees isn't one of your favorite sports. I solved that small dilemma by gathering up a few bottles of coke, a portable radio for playing rock music, and some idle teenagers who were attracted by the novelty of an olive-picking party. Anyway, it worked the first time!

One final note on the harvest: Although the fruit shown in the accompanying photos are the common Mission olives, the variety traditionally cured, any "brand" will do. Just concentrate on picking the smaller ripe fruit as the larger ones get soft.

HOW TO PROCESS YOUR OLIVES

An initial washing in a kitchen colander will probably be needed to remove dust and evidence of birds that frequent the trees. Take the strainer outside, load it with fruit, set the filled container on the patio or driveway, and flush the colander's contents good with the garden hose. Then lay newspapers on the grass and spread the wet fruit out to dry.

Of course, all this could be done in the kitchen, but it's surprising how much space the olives require, and you always seem to have more of the fruit at this point than you thought you had picked.

After the olives have dried, weigh them and then mix one pound of salt with each two pounds of olives. Pour the mixture into the wooden box with the burlap lining and spread a layer of salt one inch deep over the top. The box should be placed outdoors so that any brine which runs off won't ruin your floor (but be sure to keep the container under a shelter in case of rain).

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print