Serves: 5
Total Calories: 240
Yield: 2 Pounds Cured Black Olives

2 pounds fresh green, straw colored, or red olives unpitted
LYE SOLUTION #1
2 quarts cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons household lye
LYE SOLUTION #2
2 quarts cold water
2 tablespoons household lye
BRINE
3 tablespoons salt
2 quarts water

*Note that you will have to mix a new batch of Lye Solution #1 for each of the first four days.

1. On the first day, wearing rubber gloves, make Lye Solution #1 by placing the cold water in a large stainless steel or ceramic container. (Do not use glass, aluminum, or plastic.) Slowly add the lye to the water, and stir with a large wooden spoon until dissolved. Remember that the lye will generate heat, and set the solution aside to cool to 65°F to 70°F.

2. With gloves on, carefully slide the olives into the solution, making sure that they are completely covered. They need not be weighed down.

3. Allow the lye to penetrate only the skin of the olives. Check after 3 hours, and then every 30 minutes, by cutting open an olive and examining the color. The lye solution causes the olive to take on a yellowgreen color.

4. When sufficient penetration has been achieved, carefully discard the lye solution by flushing it down the toilet. Allow the olives to remain in the soaking container, exposed to the air. This helps give the olives their dark color. Stir 3 times during the day.

5. On the second day, prepare another batch of Lye Solution #1, following the directions in Step 1.

6. Slide the olives into the solution as directed in Step 2, and allow to soak until the solution has penetrated 1/32 to 1/16 of the way into the flesh. Check after 3 hours, and then every 30 minutes, by cutting open an olive and examining the color.

7. When sufficient penetration has been achieved, discard the lye solution, following the instructions in Step 4.

8. On the third day, prepare another batch of Lye Solution #1, following the directions in Step 1.

9. Slide the olives into the solution as directed in Step 2, and allow to soak until the solution has penetrated 1/8 to 3/16 of the way into the flesh. Check after 3 hours, and then every 30 minutes, by cutting open an olive and examining the color.

10. When sufficient penetration has been achieved, carefully discard the lye solution, following the instructions in Step 4.

11. On the fourth day, prepare another batch of Lye Solution #1, following the directions in Step 1.

12. Slide the olives into the solution as directed in Step 2, and allow to soak until the solution has penetrated 5/16 of the way into the flesh. Check after 3 hours, and then every 30 minutes, by cutting open an olive and examining the color.

13. When sufficient penetration has been achieved, discard the lye solution, following the instructions in Step 4.

14. On the fifth day, prepare Lye Solution #2, following the directions in Step 1.

15. Slide the olives into the solution as directed in Step 2, and allow to soak until the solution has penetrated the flesh completely and reached the pit. Check after 3 hours, and then every 30 minutes, by cutting open an olive and examining the color.

16. When sufficient penetration has been achieved, carefully discard the lye solution, following the instructions in Step 4.

17. To leach the lye solution out of the olives, change the water 4 times each day. This part of the curing process is complete when you can no longer detect a hint of bitterness when the olives are tasted. It may take as long as 7 or 8 days to completely remove all the lye.

18. When the olives are cleansed of lye, prepare the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Cover the olives with the brine, and let the olives rest in the brine for 2 days.

19. After their salt-soak, the olives are ready to eat. Store them in the refrigerator completely submerged in the brine, and gobble them up within 2 weeks. If you wish, you may store the olives in glass jars.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 5
Total Calories: 240
Calories from Fat: 0

More Recipes from the The Sophisticated...Olive Cookbook:
Working With Lye
Green Olives
Spanish-Style Green Olives
Black Olives
Dry Salt-Cured Olives
Brine-Cured Olives
When Good Olives Turn Bad
Hot and Spicy Sicilian-Style Olives