by Massimo Maddaloni » Thu Oct 27, 2011 7:52 pm
OK. My mom (80 years old this year) refreshed my memory. Here is the real deal. First and foremost the use of lye is instrumental in hydrolizing the oleorupin -the superbitter stuff- a process that takes forever in the brine.
NaOH is a potentially hazardous chemical, though, in that it may cause severe burns. Anyone who is sloppy should use the salt-only methods and be patient.
1) completely submerge all olives into a 2% NaOH solution in water (ie 20 grams of food-grade NaOH in 1 liter of water)
2) leave olives in lye for 8-24 hours. The exact time depends on your olives and your room temperature. The lye starts penetrating the flesh causing a change in colour. When colour change has reached halfway between the skin and the pit, discard the lye solution and THOROUGHLY rinse your olives.
3) olives are now ready for the brine. For every 1Kg of olives use 1 liter of water of and 80 grams of sea salt. Add your favorite herbs (hot chiles, garlic, pepper, fennel seeds, bay leaves ... whatever. I didn't use garlic as it imparted a stale aftertaste). They will be ready in ONE MONTH. Brine will be cloudy and will have some fizz because of lactic acid bacteria. You can discard the original brine and replace it with clear one if cloudiness bothers you.
4) If you want dark olives, when you are done with lye and thorough rinsing, drain them and expose to air for 3-10 days until their taste suits you. Don't pile them up. Eventually, they'll shrink: it's good, it's what they are supposed to do. Liberally sprinkle sea salt on them and store them under vacuum. If you don't use preservatives, after a few weeks you'll see ... stuff growing on them. They'll still taste great but ... I mean .. you know ... I never figured out what "The Stuff" was.
Paul, don't worry about anything getting dark: it is just oxydization.
Regards
Massimo
PS If you overdo with lye, olives will turn mushy. Corrected as per Mitchamus suggestion on NaOH/lye.
Last edited by
Massimo Maddaloni on Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Massimo Maddaloni
No one knows more than all of us (quoted from Zulululu)