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PICKLING
There are many different ways to prepare olives and the
Greeks know them all an then some.
Olives can be pickled when they are green or
black.
People often think that black and green olives are
different species the truth is that a black olive is just
a ripe olive.
In the Porongurup we find our fruit starts to
turn a purplish black at the end of May - June.
When some of the olives begin to change towards a
purplish black,
it will be fairly safe to pick the green olives for
pickling.
As we have said there are many different ways of
pickling olives but one of the simplest is:
Beak the skin in some way, hitting them with a
hammer, making about 3 cuts with a knife, pricking
the fruit with a fork etc.
This bruising, cutting or pricking allows the
water and salt to penetrate the fruit thereby
drawing out the bitterness and also preserving it.
Place the olives immediately into a bucket of
clean water in which one half cup of coarse salt has
been dissolved into every ten cups of water. A clean
plate can be placed on top to keep the olives
submerged.
All olives must be under the liquid, pour the
liquid away each day and replace with fresh salt
water.
Repeat this washing process for about 12 days for
green olives about 10 days for black olives. The
best test is to bite an olive, when the bitterness
has nearly gone, the olives are ready for the final
salting.
Pour off and measure the last lot of water so you
will know the volume of salt brine that will be
required. Measure that quality of fresh, warm water
into a pan and dissolve the salt, this time at the
rate of 1 cup of salt to 10 cups of water.
Bring the salt water preserving mixture to the
boil allow to cool. Place olives in bottles and then
pour the salt water brine over them until the fruit
is completely submerged. Top up the bottles with the
fruit and seal the lids on.
No further preparation is required and the
bottled olives should store for at least 12 months
in a cool cupboard.
When you are ready to eat your olives, pour out
the Strong Preserving Solution and fill the jar with
clean, cool water.
Leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours and taste
them. if they are still too salty for your liking,
then refill the bottle with a fresh lot of water and
return it to the refrigerator for a further 24
hours.
At this stage you can add flavourings such as
grated garlic, basil, chopped onions etc.
ENJOY!
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