Comments on: Curing Olives

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:35:07 +0000

Thanks, I’m going to try this. Last year I successfully cured olives in brine over 6 months. They were fantastic. This year, my attempt was not so successful. After six and half months the fruit is still a little too bitter. Crisp, but bitter. I’ll try this out and the let you know.

By: MsL

MsL — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:33:23 +0000

It tried this and it didn’t work for me.
Maybe next time.

By: hande

hande — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:34:04 +0000

MsL,
yes, you got it right, that is what I did. As I wrote before, I am no expert on this and got this information from Todd and have no idea why and how this works.

By: MsL

MsL — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:20:28 +0000

Ok reading through these post this is what I gather.
As far as a recipe to cure olives via Baking Soda.
I quart of water 4 Tbsp. Baking Soda 1lb Olives
4 days in Baking Soda Brine 2 days regular water rinse each day.
Is this about right, or did I miss something here?
How does the Baking soda do it for the Olives, and why is there no other web site with this simple solution?
I am trying this with fresh Olives I bought from a Farmers Market.

By: hande

hande — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:29:09 +0000

MsL,
if you read through the comments, you’ll see that I have solved the problem with baking soda. Please read the comments, and you’ll get all the information you need.

By: MsL

MsL — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:36:51 +0000

Hi,
Can someone please submit a level recipe for curing with baking soda as a alternative to lye?
I have one pound of green olives fresh from a Farmers Market.
This would help people with a low sodium diet and are afraid to mess with Lye.
Thank you,

By: hande

hande — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:08:32 +0000

Carol,
for that jar you see (about a quart of water) I used 4 Tbsp of baking soda. I have no idea if this was right or if mattered that much, but it worked, that I can say. I am sorry I can’t be more scientific and give more details, but this is all I know from my hands on experience!

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:34:46 +0000

What is the baking soda/water “recipe” (ie how much baking soda for how much water), or does it matter?

By: hande

hande — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:04:04 +0000

Y,
yes, they are gone by now. The baking soda suggestion from Todd worked really good.
Carol,
I think starting out anew with baking soda/water would work out, it did for me. I am not sure what it really does on a chemical/physical level and so don’t know if the herb flavor will be washed away, too; but I tend to think so. But that shouldn’t be a big problem, after the bitterness is gone, you can cover the well-rinsed olives with olive oil and herbs and it takes just a couple of days for them to get the flavor!
Todd,
obviously, thank you!

By: Carol

Carol — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:02:45 +0000

I’ve got a bunch of small green olives that have been curing for months and they’re still bitter. The recipe I originally used didn’t say to switch the brine every day at the beginning; I heard of that much later. They’ve been in salt/vinegar (I think – can’t remember exactly now) and herbs.
Is there anything I can do at this point to save them? If I empty out all the brine and put them in baking soda water will that help? And if it does, will it take away the herb flavor along with the bitterness?