Olives Home-made

[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

[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.

[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.

[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

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 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

[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.

[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

[asimenia]

Re: Olives Home-made

We keep our olives in olive oil in Greece - not brine.

[Lburou]

Re: Olives Home-made

I look forward to hearing how it goes, Dino. I have three olive trees and this year I have my first (and I do mean first for I have ONLY ONE) olive and it is just about ready to pick. Next year all three trees should bear and I will FINALLY be able to make olives.

Alas, one olive is sort of unusable!
Jay

One olive, but the promise of a tree full in a year or two.

We had three year old peach and apple trees with their first crop this year. One apple and a couple dozen good peaches from three different peach trees.....I am excited about the future years for these wonderful fruits. I share your anticipation for the coming year's crop

Mediteranian/Greek olives add a lot to the taste of a pizza! All olives are not equal though...godspeed Dino_Pizza!

[C5dad]

Re: Olives Home-made

My olive experiment did not go too well - Kalamata style. Following the recipe on line, they came out wayyyyyyy to salty. Next time fresh water every couple of days for the first week or so, then salt solution.

[roobqn]

Re: Olives Home-made

Would you be able to soak the olives in fresh water to help remove the saltiness?

When we make pastrami, we soak a store bought corned beef for several hours to overnight to help remove the saltiness. Just don't know if that is an option with olives. Maybe wouldn't hurt to try it on a handfull.

[C5dad]

Re: Olives Home-made

I tried 1 week in fresh water to no avail. I was thinking to let it sit for another week - why not it was over a month at that point, but I needed the SS vessel for sauce making - gotta keep the chillins happy.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Olives Home-made

I also saw one recipe on-line that started the initial soaking in a brine solution and immediately thought that was wrong. I know there are different ways to do things but I thought it would be too salty by the time you leached out the bitterness (initially).

Soaking in water sounds like a good idea, might as well make it a water/vinegar 50-50 mix and throw out the mix and refresh it once a week for a month. Inexpensive white or cider or red vinegar should be fine.

PS asiminia: I've transferred a small jar of my olives to oil only. So far they're still delicious.

[CoyoteVB]

Re: Olives Home-made

If you are interested in brining your own olives, here is a great resource. Fresh Gourmet Olives for Sale | Penna Olives- GreatOlives.com. There is also a good UC Davis site that discusses olives.