Olives Home-made

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

Doug, never thought about freezing them but I'll try a batch like that to see how it works. I've already "dressed" mine up so I can't do these but I'll pick some more.

My olives taste great. 1 jar had a bit too much vinegar so I poured half the liquid out and topped off with brine water only. It should dilute that batch in week or so. My cousin just picked a small bushel of green olives and he said he puts them right into the brine mix (after cracking-smashing the olive with a flat rock) and changes out,-rinses out the olives 3 times, every 3 days and then they're ready. I did a 10 day water only rinse then 2 week brine. I also put 1 'slit' in each olive so it would take longer to get the bitter out but I think they look better.

Dmun, interesting about the Lye, but it makes sense. It's only for leaching out the bitterness. However, unless your going pro, Lye isn't necessary and I think best avoided. It may scrub the olives flavor out too much if not watched. But I really don't know.

My Sauerkraut is a week old and smells and tastes super. I've not had to skim anything off it...yet. I'm going to plan a Reuben sandwich dinner this week. Thanks for the link Jon. That $65 price is good. The krauts success got me to buy some nice Japanese cucumbers and I've started fermenting them in another jar. I read that adding grape leaves to pickle brine adds tannins that keep the pickles crisp as they cure. It was also a nice way to hold them down, just under my rock weight. We'll see. I've left them whole so they may take 2 weeks.

thanks, Dino

[dmun]

Re: Olives Home-made

An article in The Atlantic today on the olive curing subject: Lye: it's not just for pretzels anymore.

Interestingly, the author states that there's no difference between food-grade and hardware store lye.

I've been on the lookout for olive trees in New Jersey, without much luck so far.

[Jon in Albany]

Re: Olives Home-made

I had mine in a container that was about 6 inches in diameter and maybe a foot high. I had a bowl holding the cabbage down and enough brine to cover everything by a few inches. I also put a piece of cheese cloth over the top. When I skimmed, twice I think, I took some of the brine but left everything submerged. I let it go for about 10 days. The recipe I was following called for 2 weeks, but work got in the way of leaving it that long. Plus, we had some nice weather and I could open up the windows if the kids complained too much...I did get a few, "What's that smell?!?" questions.

Right out of the brine, it tasted like sauerkraut slaw. Very tasty, but still a little crunch to it and not exactly what you think of when think sauerkraut. I put the sauerkraut in a jar, boiled the brine and the put it on top once the brine came to room temperature, submerging the sauerkraut again. Then I stored it in the fridge.

For the Ruebens, I cooked the sauerkraut in some of the brine and some apple cider vinegar. Out of the pot, it tasted like very good sauerkraut.

If I was making it again, I would use a brine from the start. This recipe just called for salt and cabbage. It's a weight ratio. Let that sit for 2 days then top off with water if needed. I needed to add water.

I have never bought one, but the Sausage Maker in Buffalo, NY has fermenting crocks. I have purchased other things from them. Here's a link to the crock page. Their pots start at $65.

Fermentation Pots or Fermenting Pots - The Sausage Maker, Inc.

Jon

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

Yeeeahhh! That's what I'm talking about.

Looks great Jon. So you don't keep it closed tightly for the most of the fermenting? You opened it up occasionally to skim off foam or mold? That's what I'm going to do but wasn't sure. I'm still pouring over fermentation forums and I'm only on day 2.

I was in Santa Cruz 2 wks ago and a farmers market at Cabrillo College had freshly made Skraut and Skraut juice shots that got me going. Never thought about the Reuben but that's my new goal.

thanks! Dino

[Jon in Albany]

Re: Olives Home-made

I made a batch of sauerkraut a few weeks ago. I had to skim a little bit of funk off of the top during the fermentation. Homemade sauerkraut makes a kick-ass Reuben.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

Ya, I've been drooling over the 'Harsch Crocs' on-line.
Amazon.com: Harsch Gairtopf Fermenting Crock Pot - 5 Liter - ME7409: Health & Personal Care: Reviews, Prices & more

They have a 2-piece stone weight that keeps the cabbage under brine (for optimal aerobic activity) and a lip or channel along the top (like a moat) that the lid fits into after you pour water into this 'moat' that seals it but allows co2 gases to escape. Something like that. I'll experiment with open crocks and ball jars 1st before I plunk down $120 for the small one. I want to try to make Kimchi too.

Thanks Jay, I'm putting my kraut in the wine cellar. I don't think lactic acid in sauerkraut will hurt the wine but vinegar certainly would. Although wine does go through malo-lactic fermentation... got to call a winemaker.

Thanks for noticing my plumerias John! They got little attention during the wfo build so they are much happier now.

[dmun]

Re: Olives Home-made

I also shredded a head of cabbage to make my 1st Sauerkraut. I've got a couple books on fermentation, compared with on-line instructions (very simple) salted and pounded it into a crock with a few pickle spices and it smells great this morning.

Um, it's called fermentation for a reason. It's second cousin to rotting. You may want to cure that one out in the shed.

I've not done it myself, but I understand that an airlock (that lets gasses out but doesn't let air in) can prevent problems.

[texassourdough]

Re: Olives Home-made

Hi Dino!

Those look inspirational! Hope I can even get close next year!

Homemade sauerkraut is amazing. I have done it twice. I have to do it in January/February when it is cold - it is generally too warm the rest of the year!

Way to go!
Jay

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Olives Home-made

Dino,

Boy do those look good! It'll be nice to taste the difference over time as the olives age. This of course is slightly difficult to do when there is only ONE olive!

Nice plumeria too!

John

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

I put my olives into jars yesterday. It only took them 2 weeks and 1 change of salty-brine (after the 3 weeks of water only to get the bitter out) and they taste great.

I put the green only in a brine-white vinegar/cider vinegar mix with green peppercorns, dill seed and oregano. I may add some celery sticks.

The 3 red-mostly jars have different mixes of red wine and cider vinegar, oregano, juniper berries peppercorns, garlic cloves and lemon wedges.

And of course, topped off with 1" of olive oil to 'seal' the top while they cure in their mixes for about 1-2 weeks. Then, I'll start eating them, see if I need to adjust it with more vinegar or less.



I was surprised the greens were more mild and the reds only a tad bitter but with great olive taste. I think when their solutions blend in, they'll be terrific.

OHHH...MY FIRST: while jarring olives, I also shredded a head of cabbage to make my 1st Sauerkraut. I've got a couple books on fermentation, compared with on-line instructions (very simple) salted and pounded it into a crock with a few pickle spices and it smells great this morning. I'll know in 1-2 weeks. -Dino

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

No, I don't worry about spotted, blotchy olives. They tend to get blotchy as they cure and darken as well. I do avoid picking the olives that have tiny dimples which makes the surrounding area appear bumpy. I know it's some sort of soil virus that does that probably is harmless and tasteless for these salty, vinegary things. I had 3-4 trees to choose from so I did pick nice looking olives. If I only had 1 choice, I'd use the imperfect, no question.

My 2 weeks of 'water curing' are over and I'm in my 1st week of brine solution, changing it weekly for 1 month. In 3 weeks I'll taste 'em and see if they are ready for final jaring.

[SCChris]

Re: Olives Home-made

Dino,
Do you worry about the spotted olives, black spots, or only use perfect?

Chris

[texassourdough]

Re: Olives Home-made

Good Luck TS! We are right at the northern edge of olive tree viability. It will probably get frozen back every so often. Not a bad idea to give it a year or two in a pot before putting it in the ground (so you can move it inside if you have to). As they grow older they get a bit more cold tolerant. Will be three to seven years to fruit depending on how much you water and feed. (But they don't want too much of either...)

Good luck!
Jay

[Tscarborough]

Re: Olives Home-made

A friend bought an olive tree for me. It is very small and I have it potted until I decide where to plant it, but it will be near the oven.

[texassourdough]

Re: Olives Home-made

Or be clever and make one home grown olive and pretend it is two - then add a commercial olive and ....

(of course one can die doing things like this with a perceptive spouse!)
Jay