How to prepare olives…

Thanks to el hormiguero and this advice, I am finally able to prepare the family olives for eating here in Turkey. His recipe is as follows:

After leaving the olives (crushed or split) soaking for fifteen days, with daily water changes – not chlorine water, put them into glass bottles with salt, vinegar (the good stuff), garlic, oregano, a little hot pepper and water to cover. Some people say that this leaves the olives very salty, but Alfonso comes to the rescue with the proportion of 100 grammes of salt per each litre of water.

A variation suggested by ” Mamixula”: Heads of garlic cut in half, carob leaves (to stop them going too soft), a great deal of thyme, lemon rinds and salt.

How much salt should you use? Pipi makes this suggestion. First calculate the amount of water you need and and put in a uncooked egg. Slowly add salt until the egg remains in the middle of the water, neither floating or sinking. After this, she adds rosemary and garlic as well as other herbs including fennel and laurel leaves.

Carrots is another favorite additive.

José Luís gives this recipe for four litres of olives-water:

• A medium head of garlic divided into cloves
• 5 teaspoons of sweet red pepper
• 1 glass (of wine) of vinegar
• 5 medium dry peppers (chopped and crushed)
• 5 branches of thyme
• fennel
• 1/4 of kg of salt
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 3 whole leaves of laurel
• 3 chilli pods

He also suggests that during the fifteen days initial soak, that a little salt is added to the daily water changes so that the olives do not become too soft. Whilst other people suggest that after splitting (or crushing) the olives, they should not be touched by anything metallic or by the hands, wooden tools are the best to use.

Use a pestle and mortar to crush the chillies, peppers, sweet pepper with the vinegar and lemon juice.
I thought some pictures would be nice also, and they certainly made me hungry – off to last of our olives now.. ja ja ja