Serves: 5
Total Calories: 242
Yield: 2 Pounds Cured Green Olives

2 pounds fresh green or yellow olives unpitted
LYE SOLUTION
2 quarts cold water
2 tablespoons household lye
BRINE
8 ounces salt
2 quarts water
LACTIC-ACID BOOSTER
3 ounces dill pickle or sauerkraut juice
3/4 teaspoon sugar or 1 teaspoon corn syrup
STORAGE CONTAINERS
two 1 quart glass jars with lids

1. Wearing rubber gloves, make the lye solution 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. Half fill a heavy-duty plastic kitchen trash bag with water, and secure with a twist tie. Then place the water-filled bag on top of the olives to make sure that they remain completely immersed in the lye solution. If necessary, place a plate on top of the water-filled bag to weigh it down.

3. Allow the lye to penetrate the flesh of the olives about three-fourths of the way to the pit. To test the amount of penetration, carefully take out one of the largest olives and cut it down to the pit. The lye solution causes the flesh of the olive to take on a yellow-green color. If the color hasn’t penetrated far enough, the olives are not ready. This soaking may take from 4 to 6 days.

4. When it’s apparent that the lye has adequately penetrated the flesh of the olives, carefully discard the lye solution by flushing it down the toilet. Rinse the olives twice in cold water; then cover them with fresh cold water, being careful to avoid exposing the olives to the air any longer than you must while changing the water. (Air will cause the fruit to darken.) Submerge the olives fully in the water to exclude all air, following the procedure described in Step 2.

5. To leach the lye solution out of the olives, change the water every 4 hours. This part of the curing process is complete when you can no longer detect a hint of bitterness when the olives are tasted. It will take from 1 to 2 days to completely remove all the lye.

6. Before discarding the last rinse water, prepare the brine by dissolving the salt in the water. Pack the washed and drained olives into the jars and cover with the brine. Put the lids on loosely. To hasten fermentation, store the olives in a place where the temperature is between 70°F and 90°F, but not over 100°F. Expect some frothing and foaming during this period of active fermentation, which will last from 4 to 5 days. The olives must stay submerged in the brine. If brine overflows, replace it with fresh brine.

7. When the brine has stopped foaming, prepare the lactic-acid booster by mixing the pickle or sauerkraut juice with the sugar or corn syrup. (The sugar or corn syrup is added to feed the bacteria.) Divide the booster equally between the jars and stir into the brine, being careful not to bruise the olives in the process. Cap loosely and let rest for about a week.

8. By the sixth or seventh day, gas production will be slower, although fermentation will continue. Be sure the jars are topped off with brine. Firmly tighten the lids to exclude air, and let the olives rest in a cool place until ready to serve, at least another 3 days. Use the olives within 2 weeks.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 5
Total Calories: 242
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