Recipe Directions

1. After picking the olives, make a cut in each one. (Don’t wait till they are dark and soft they are for the Sun Olives recipe.)

2. Wash them and put them in water. Now change the water twice a day.

3. After a week or so I start tasting the olives, as soon as they taste good it is time to prevent them from going off. For example by putting them in a brine (salty water) or in olive oil with some herbs, like oregano or thyme.

Chaewen's Thoughts

By chaewen

Olives are not edible straight off the tree.

Commercially they are cured using lye, eg. caustic soda, which neutralizes the bitter taste. After which they are pasteurized.

I prefer to do it with water and keep them raw.

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Comments

Top voted

27 votes
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Yeah, where do you live that you can just pick olives? I am sooooooo jealous!

26 votes
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Wow! I didn't know water could be used-producing a much milder taste, I suppose? I wish I had access to olives trees-maybe someday!!

21 votes
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I'm glad someone here has tried making water-cured olives!Yay! When the next crop of olives is in, I'm going to borrow space in my parents' basement and set up both salt-cured and water-cured olives. Thanks!

All

9 votes
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Thanks for sharing!

Everything that I ever read about getting raw olives ready was waaaaayyy too complicated and definitely not worth the hassle. Now this is definitely do-able and time for me to get a tree.

7 votes
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Definitely something that sounds doable if you have the climate for it!

21 votes
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Raw Yogini, I think the olives last longer in brine, storing anything in oil is not without risks as certain bacteria can grow without oxygen. If you have enough salt, nothing will grow. Olives in oil are much tastier, and mine tend to be eaten quickly.

12 votes
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thanks chaewen, I am trying this now, yes we have an olive tree in our garden here in New Zealand. I was wondering if you could tell me if the olives would last longer in the brine or in the olive oil?

12 votes
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The olives on the picture were picked at "my sister's place":http://www.pardieiro.com/ in the Alentejo, Southern Portugal.

16 votes
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Wish I still lived in California so I could pick fresh olives! I love them

27 votes
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Yeah, where do you live that you can just pick olives? I am sooooooo jealous!

Top Voted
16 votes
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where can I get fresh olives? I love olives!! I am meant to eat olives as I am mediteranian in my background!! YUM

21 votes
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I'm glad someone here has tried making water-cured olives!Yay! When the next crop of olives is in, I'm going to borrow space in my parents' basement and set up both salt-cured and water-cured olives. Thanks!

Top Voted
26 votes
+
Vote up!
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Vote down!

Wow! I didn't know water could be used-producing a much milder taste, I suppose? I wish I had access to olives trees-maybe someday!!

Top Voted
19 votes
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I know it is not the time for picking olives but I just wrote about the "Tree of Peace":http://www.vitagaia.org/boomblog/index.php?entry=entry080502-110928 and copied

the recipe to gone raw.

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