Are black olives soaked in lye?

Most Spanish table olives are cured at least in part with lye, but their process is far different than that used in to make the hideous Lindsay olive. I am modifying a method I found in an agricultural book written in 1817.

Do you soak olives in lye?

It is surprising how much it has been used to preserve food over the years. In a nutshell, you mix lye powder with cold water and then carefully submerge your olives in the mixture for 12 hours. You repeat this process several times until the lye penetrates the olive down to the pit.

What do they soak olives in to make them black?

Prepare a mixture of vinegar and water, using one part white wine vinegar to two parts water and soak the olives in the vinegar mixture for three days, stirring occasionally.

What kind of lye is used to cure olives?

The lye used to cure olives must be 100% pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) – also commonly known as caustic soda or lye. Pure lye is available in some hardware stores and farm supply stores or can be ordered from some chemical suppliers or soap making suppliers.

What do they soak olives in?

Brine-curing: Brine-curing involves soaking olives in salt water for three to six months. Under the brine, olives ferment, breaking down the oleuropein and converting some of the sugar in the olives into lactic acid, which preserves and flavors the olives.

Why Can’t You Buy *Fresh* Olives?

What are black olives treated with?

Calcium chloride salts, iron salts (ferrous gluconate) and compressed air bubbled through the curing vats help develop the black color. So there is no black dye used but the olives are treated to make them a nice uniform dark black.

How do you cure olives without lye?

Combine 1 part salt to 10 parts water and pour over the olives in a bowl or pot. Weigh them down with a plate and let sit for 1 week. Drain the olives and repeat the brining process for another week. Do this two more times so they brine for about a month or so.

Are lye cured olives bad for you?

Bottom line: Raw, pure lye will burn the hell out of you, but it is not a systemic poison. That means that even if you eat an olive that still has a lot of lye in it — as I did — all you will taste is a nasty soapy flavor.

Are kalamata olives cured in lye?

When olives are brought in fresh they are treated with a solution of lye and fresh water in order to de-bitter the olives more rapidly. The olives are then washed completely before they begin the curing process in a natural brine.

Are black olives fake?

Black olives, though labeled as “ripe” on supermarket cans, actually aren't: these, a California invention, are green olives that have been cured in an alkaline solution, and then treated with oxygen and an iron compound (ferrous gluconate) that turns their skins a shiny patent-leather black.

What is the difference between Kalamata and black olives?

Are Kalamata olives and black olives the same? No, Kalamata olives and black olives are different variety olives with differences in taste, texture, and size. For instance, Kalamata olives are almond-shaped with dark purple or dark brown color. However black olives are rounded with black color when fully riped.

How are canned black olives made?

To produce black or green canned olives, raw green, unripe olives are cured in lye. To develop the black color we expect in canned olives, oxygen is added to the curing vats to react with natural compounds, while salts are also added to make the color change consistent. To can green olives, oxidation is skipped.

Are organic olives cured in lye?

The use of lye curing is prohibited for organic olives.

Are olives put in poison?

Many olives have an enzyme called catechol oxidase that causes them to change from a green to a red-brown to a black, but some just stay green or black. But at all of these stages, they are too bitter though not toxic to eat, because of a chemical called oleuropein, which also has anti-microbial properties.

Are olives poisonous before curing?

There are many ways of processing olives for table use . . . [long excursus on olive processing methods, omitted for brevity]. The olives can be tasted at any time as the bitter compounds are not poisonous, and oleuropein is a useful antioxidant in the human diet.

What is the healthiest type of olive?

Olive experts prefer Kalamata olives as they are the healthiest olives found on earth. They are generally bigger than the usual black olives and have a plumper shape. Despite their size and deep dark-purple color, they are usually categorized as Greek black table olives.

What is the difference between olives and Kalamata olives?

You can easily differentiate between Kalamata olives and black olives as Kalamatas have that deep purple color. The shape of Kalamata olives is also more oblong and almond-like, whereas black olives are more rounded. Kalamata olives are generally bigger than black olives.

What makes Kalamata olives different?

Kalamata olives, like pure Greek olive oil, contain phenolic compounds, which are natural antioxidants. It is this compound that gives olives their unique taste.

What happens if you eat lye?

Swallowing sodium hydroxide may cause severe burns in the mouth, throat and stomach. Severe scarring of tissue and death may result. Symptoms of eating or drinking sodium hydroxide may include bleeding, throwing up or diarrhea. A drop in blood pressure may also occur.

Is lye in food bad for you?

Lye water (sometimes called 'Lime Water') is a strong (caustic) liquid that is safe to use in very small amounts in cooking, but it can be dangerous if lye water is swallowed undiluted straight from the bottle. It can cause severe corrosive burns to the throat, oesophagus and stomach with permanent damage if swallowed.

What is lye made of?

A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide NaOH, but historically has been used for potassium hydroxide KOH.

Can you eat olives straight from the tree?

Are olives edible off the branch? While olives are edible straight from the tree, they are intensely bitter. Olives contain oleuropein and phenolic compounds, which must be removed or, at least, reduced to make the olive palatable.

Are olives pickled or fermented?

Olives are preserved in brine, fermented or not, and darkened by oxidation in an alkaline medium. They are stored in hermetically sealed containers and subjected to heat sterilization. Olives prepared in a different way than those above following traditional recipes.

How does salt cure black olives?

Glass Jar or Crock Method

Cover layer of olives with more salt. Add another layer of olives. Repeat until all the olives are completely covered in salt. Leave at room temperature, stirring olives or shaking the jar once a day and adding more salt if necessary to keep olives covered.