Friday, November 18, 2011

Curing/Cracking Your Olives


DAY 3 OF OLIVE WEEK

You may have seen or tasted the cracked olives in North Cyprus, which are sometimes stuffed, or eaten as part of a Meze. They are very nice to eat, and you can make them at home using the unripe green olives from your tree, making sure that they have not been eaten away anywhere by animals/bugs and that they are not bruised.

Firstly, give your olives a gentle wash with cold water, to remove any stains or dirt. Next, you need to crack the olives. You can do this with a rolling pin or any other suitable hard object such as a small mallet. You need to hit the olive so that it cracks, do not hit it too hard otherwise you may break the pip, or end up with a load of mush. 


Next, you can remove the stone if you wish, by gently pulling the stone through the cracked part. Be careful not to rip or tear the olive.  This is a matter of taste, you do not have to remove the stone if you do not want to. 

Next you need to place the olives in cold water. You need to completely cover the olives, so that none of them are poking out. Some people like to use slightly salted water at this stage, but you can use either method. You need to change the water at least once a day to prevent bacteria building up in the water.  The idea is to keep doing this until they do not taste bitter anymore, which normally takes at least 7 days. It is not a good idea to taste them every day, especially at for the first few days, as they will be horrible.


Next, you need to change the water once more, and cover the olives with a brine which is made up of one part salt to ten parts water, again making sure they are completely covered. Let them sit in the same water for 4 – 5 days and taste them each day until you are happy with the taste.  You can then transfer them to a jar with one part salt and 20 parts water and put in the fridge. 



You must eat your home-made olives within 2 to 3 months, otherwise they may not be safe to eat after this time.

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