So you know we actually live in Tunisia where I have heard it is against the law to cut down an olive tree. I wasn't planning to anyway, but it definitely indicates an attachment and commitment to the tree. Of course, we can buy a large variety of commercially-cured olives here, year-around, but I have wondered what would be involved in curing them myself. You can buy fresh olives this time of year for as little as 1 dinar (about 70 cents) for 1 kg. so aside from the waste involved in a failed attempt, it's not an expensive exploration. I bought 2 kgs. of these beautes yesterday at the market.
Since this process technically falls under the heading of preserving food, I got some good advice so I don't end up growing something undesirable, like bacteria. I figured the University of California, Department of Agriculture and Resources would have this researched. They have a 26 page e-booklet called Olives: Safe Methods for Home Pickling.
I wanted to get the very long process started and think more about the brine in a few days so I chose the method for Mediterranean Cracked Olives. One begins by cracking the olives, but not the pits, with a mallet or rolling pin and submerging them in a water bath, changing the water twice daily, for at least 10 days or until enough of the bitterness has been removed.
This was a nifty suggestion for keeping the olives submerged. It is simply a Ziploc bag filled with water.
You can already see the oil floating to the top. I'll let you know what I've got in 10 days.
Since this process technically falls under the heading of preserving food, I got some good advice so I don't end up growing something undesirable, like bacteria. I figured the University of California, Department of Agriculture and Resources would have this researched. They have a 26 page e-booklet called Olives: Safe Methods for Home Pickling.
I wanted to get the very long process started and think more about the brine in a few days so I chose the method for Mediterranean Cracked Olives. One begins by cracking the olives, but not the pits, with a mallet or rolling pin and submerging them in a water bath, changing the water twice daily, for at least 10 days or until enough of the bitterness has been removed.
This was a nifty suggestion for keeping the olives submerged. It is simply a Ziploc bag filled with water.
No comments:
Post a Comment