Colossal Olives

[Wade E]

Anyone make their own olives. I am picking up a lug of them tomorrow and will start that endeavor by gently cracking them open and cold soaking them for a week before making the brine and soaking for months. One of my wine making friends offered me some last year and i was blown away by them and he gave me the recipe. They are the best darn olives in the world (Okay, maybe not Italy but thats where they come from) that I have ever tasted and will be making these every year now also. They wont be ready till after Thanksgiving.

 

[Wade E]

Ingredients:

10-12 pounds Green Olives (buy in boxes)
Pickling Salt (Walmart) 2-3 containers
White wine vinegar
Oregano (1 bunch)
Garlic (8 cloves)
Cheese cloth
10-20 L Demijohn with wide mouth

Directions:

1. Rinse olives in cold water and drain
2. Crack olives for soaking. Place olive on hard surface and hit with a flat block or stone. Try to hit hard just enough to crack the flesh. If you hit too hard you will break in half
3. Place the olives in a food grade plastic pail of fresh cold water. Be sure the olives are completely submerged. Close the container lid loosely and leave the olives to soak
4. After 24 hours, drain water and cover again with fresh cool water. Repeat the water change daily for 6-7 days. This process removes the bitterness of the olives

Now for your busy day:

1. Drain olives out of brine
2. Peel and pop open garlic cloves
3. Wrap several bundles of Oregano in cheese cloth and tie up top with string
4. Add 1 pound (1-1/2 cups) of Pickling salt to one gallon of warm water and stir until dissolved. Then add 2 cups of white wine vinegar and stir
5. In a clean demijohn, place some olives, some garlic, and a bag of oregano
6. Continue to make layers of these items in the demi-john
7. When complete, pour the above brine into the demijohn and fill to top. Place put on cover securely
8. Try to keep all olives under water or they will get mildew (try a light weight on top)
9. Keep demijohn in a cool place ( a refrigerator if necessary)

Rest for about two months (that was a tough day) – the olives need time to soften and mature in the brine

Preparing to eat:

1. Take desired amount of olives from demijohn. Be sure to refill demijohn with fresh water to the top (narrow neck). This presents the smallest area for the olives to get exposed to the air. Replace top weight
2. Rinse under cold water, let soak for 10-15 minutes, then rinse again
3. Mix 1 cube of garlic and 1 cube of parsley (Trader Joe’s) with olive oil in a bowl. Soften cubes by mixing ingredients; then add red or black pepper. Add olives to mixture. Adjust amount of ingredients depending on amount of olives being prepared.
4. Enjoy with some home made wine!!

Frank and AnnMarie Renaldi

 

[Sacalait]

What kind of cost are we talking about for the olives and where do you purchase these?

 

[Wade E]

I purched them from a place called M&M produce in Hartford Ct. A 16 lb box costs $34 and the 2 demijohns needed to store them afetr they give op the acids in them are $18.50 a pce. These demijohns have very wide mouths unlike a wine demi so you can reach in and put in all the stuff like hop bags full of parsley and garlic. I bought all this stuff today and actually sliced them on 1 side of each olive to the pit with a ceramic knife as metal 1's can cause browning for some reason. Someone else told me about the slicinginstead of the smacking and it was raining here pretty good today so did the knife thing instead. In a few months Ill be in hevaen!!!!!!! Here are some pics of the olives and the Demi's, they are 10 liter demi's!

 

[joeswine]

olives

sounds just like the recipe i have there GREATTTTTTTTTT

 

[arcticsid]

I am SOO!!! jealous. I wish I could find those here! So limited on whats available in Fairbanks, and to order anything just adds enormous shipping. I remeber seeing a "de-pitting" press, don't remember where and if I remeber right it wasn't to spendy. Look around I am sure you can find one.
Troy

 

[Wade E]

The pitter is usually about $13 for a good one and my wife and I already talked about doing this next year with garlic and cheese and maybe even some prosciutto.

 

[arcticsid]

Thanks alot. I already told you how jealous I was, and then you gotta go and rub the brining salt in my eye with the garlic cheese stuff!!!!!!!!Heehee.

 

[DesertDance]

There are olive trees on the courses that we golf. We pick them. We brine them. 2 or 9 baths in the brine, and when they taste fine, we add herbs to the brine... fresh lemon and orange slices, rosemary, garlic, and so on. We brine the herbs for a while, then we rinse, and jar with some nice red wine vinegar topped with some nice olive oil. But, there are still the pits to deal with.

 

[Horkalugi]

There are olive trees on the courses that we golf. We pick them. We brine them. 2 or 9 baths in the brine, and when they taste fine, we add herbs to the brine... fresh lemon and orange slices, rosemary, garlic, and so on. We brine the herbs for a while, then we rinse, and jar with some nice red wine vinegar topped with some nice olive oil. But, there are still the pits to deal with.

I add gin.

 

[DesertDance]

Gin tastes like Gasoline

I add gin.

Why would you add Gin to those nice Olives? Well I am from California, and a true martini is Vodka and Olives with a spray of Vermouth.

 

[Horkalugi]

Why would you add Gin to those nice Olives? Well I am from California, and a true martini is Vodka and Olives with a spray of Vermouth.

Google "true martini" or history of the martini and it seems dry gin is the spirit most associated with the true martini, everywhere, except for a small zip code in California.

 

[Wade E]

There is nothing better then an olive soaked in a good Gin Martini! I actually dont like the Martini but my wife does, I just love the olives so when she does have a martini she has to add extra lives so that we both have some! I finally yanked some out late last week and they are ready and awesome. Ill be making at least a box of these every year.

 

[Mud]

Why would you add Gin to those nice Olives? Well I am from California, and a true martini is Vodka and Olives with a spray of Vermouth.

That's a vodka martini, and it's a crime. haha

 

[Loren]

I used to do those when I lived in Sacramento, Ca. I picked them myself, the really big ones, think they were called Manzanellas, my two sons would eat a quart of them at a sitting if I would let them, Anyway, I remember using lye in one of the steps, been a long time, like 40 years ago, we kept them in a covered five gallon bucket, put them in a jar when needed for the table.

 

[Wade E]

Yes, some people use Lye which I belive is the same as Drano which scares me so Ill do it the hard way! Im not saying its wrong just saying I wouldnt trust myself doing that!