Fermenting Green Olives
 

I got gifted 1/2 gallon of green olives.
I am water curing them in the refrigerator, for now.
I want to brine cure them, after some of the bitterness is gone.
If anyone can give advise I would love some.
Also, is there anything I can do with the bitter water that I pour off?

Thank You

I have never in my life ever heard of water curing anything much less an olive.
Sounds like a recipe for rot to me and would not do it.
Well maybe in the refrigerator.
As for the brine cure from an old Sicilian lady you take a fresh egg and use enough salt in the water to float the egg.
I am sure there are better ways to determine the amount of salt than this but that is how they did it in the old country.
Why a fresh egg?
An old egg has more of an air pocket in it and will float sooner for a given amount of salt.

As for the water no I have no idea what your would use it for.
Worth

Here is something I found you might like.
[url]https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=22&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj7-qXmvL7WAhVCwVQKHcwZATEQFgifATAV&url=https%3A%2F%2Fanrcatalog.ucanr.edu%2Fpdf%2F8267.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFQ7fIAqZV85DVT-DluL_Vk-k-d9w[/url]

[url]http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8267.pdf[/url]

Water curing is the first step to remove the bitter compounds. They are finished in a salt brine.

clspie, how are your olives coming along?

Still water curing them in the refrigerator. I have been changing the water daily, to get rid of some of the bitterness. In a few days I will begin to ferment them, similar to fermenting sauerkraut, but maybe changing the brine a couple of times to further reduce the bitterness. I'll be lucky to have them done by Christmas. Thank you for taking an interest. I'll post progress as things move along.

I lived most of my life in So California where there are olive trees everywhere. I knew people who cured olives but I never wanted to try it myself.

I like the way olive trees look, as well as eating ripe olives, LOL. I am impressed by you curing your olives, please do post more about it as you go, I'd enjoy reading about what you are doing!

After water curing in the refrigerator, changing the water daily(for 20 days), today I brined the olives. I used one tablespoon of salt to each cup water (needed 3 cups of brine). They will stay in this brine 12 days. Next step will be changing the brine and adding spices then waiting 5-6 weeks and hopefully they will have taste that's not too bitter.

[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/picture.php?albumid=413&pictureid=2774[/IMG]

That looks so good! What herbs are you adding in your brine?

[QUOTE=imp;668189]That looks so good! What herbs are you adding in your brine?[/QUOTE]

Thank You
When I change the brine, I think that I'll add fresh lemon and pickling spice.

MMM, lemon in olives? Might be a nice bright note.