Olives
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: now just seville ( province)
Posts: 550
Re: Olives
I just "googled" effects of sodium hydroxide poisoning. It says you can take over a month to die! Sounds like a nasty piece of work to me. I will certainly think twice about eating home cured olives from now on. My neighbour makes them by the tonne so it is going to be difficult.
#17
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 71
Re: Olives
Why? Does your neighbour use caustic soda? Are you sure? I got a splah on my arm and within seconds it had burned through two jumpers, a T-shirt and my skin and was on its way into the flesh.
#18
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Los Martinez
Posts: 858
Re: Olives
Caustic Soda is used in the industrial production of olives because it is so much faster than salt.
To be safe I would only ever use salt never caustic soda, be safe, stay alive!
To be safe I would only ever use salt never caustic soda, be safe, stay alive!
#19
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: now just seville ( province)
Posts: 550
Re: Olives
Unlike Lou p's other half
#20
Re: Olives
I just "googled" effects of sodium hydroxide poisoning. It says you can take over a month to die! Sounds like a nasty piece of work to me. I will certainly think twice about eating home cured olives from now on. My neighbour makes them by the tonne so it is going to be difficult.
#21
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2015
Location: valencia
Posts: 40
Re: Olives
I got the solution for the olives!!!!!!
Read carefully, I will write it only once.............................................. .............................................
bin them and buy some lovely tasting ones in jars at the supermarkets for only a bit over a 1 euro!!!!!!!!!
Read carefully, I will write it only once.............................................. .............................................
bin them and buy some lovely tasting ones in jars at the supermarkets for only a bit over a 1 euro!!!!!!!!!
#22
Re: Olives
I got the solution for the olives!!!!!!
Read carefully, I will write it only once.............................................. .............................................
bin them and buy some lovely tasting ones in jars at the supermarkets for only a bit over a 1 euro!!!!!!!!!
Read carefully, I will write it only once.............................................. .............................................
bin them and buy some lovely tasting ones in jars at the supermarkets for only a bit over a 1 euro!!!!!!!!!
Rosemary
#23
Re: Olives
Never touch them myself.
The fact that all forms of wildlife from birds to insects merrily devours almost everything else in the garden and yet avoids olives like the plague, tells me all I need to know.
The fact that all forms of wildlife from birds to insects merrily devours almost everything else in the garden and yet avoids olives like the plague, tells me all I need to know.
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2012
Location: Andalucia Spain
Posts: 672
Re: Olives
Not true. Once ripe and during dry spells before harvesting, they are tackled by songbirds. I have also seen Hispanic Cabra eating them.
#26
Re: Olives
Quite a few birds around but maybe not the species you mention or maybe they don't find my olives as tasty as the various alternatives on offer.
#27
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 96
Re: Olives
We follow the methods recommended in this incredibly thorough paper from the University of California (we found it just by Googling "preserving olives"). http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8267.pdf. (Published and publicly-available paper so presumably we're OK to attach this link). The recommended method of home-curing green olives works for us, i.e. (1) bash the olives so that they just split (b) soak them in water (c) change the water every day for between 7 - 28 days, depending on how bitter you like your olives (the water leaches out the oleopurine which is what makes it bitter - for our olives, 16- 20 days suits our taste) (d) drain them off and put them in the finish brine (salt, vinegar and water) as prescribed by the recipe (e) take them out when you want to eat them.
You can take them out of the brine and keep them for a few days in light olive oil with a few garlic cloves and/or lemon peel and/or chilli or whatever takes your fancy.
The learned Professors at the U of C say that with this method, you should keep the olives in the fridge once they are in the finish brine. We don't, and we haven't been poisoned yet, though I'm sure the microbiologists amongst you will say that it's only a matter of time....but we can't afford to buy all the fridges we'd need to keep all our olives!
A lot of work, but delicious olives at the end, none of which have been blasted with "lye" (caustic soda) as used by commercial preservers.
You can take them out of the brine and keep them for a few days in light olive oil with a few garlic cloves and/or lemon peel and/or chilli or whatever takes your fancy.
The learned Professors at the U of C say that with this method, you should keep the olives in the fridge once they are in the finish brine. We don't, and we haven't been poisoned yet, though I'm sure the microbiologists amongst you will say that it's only a matter of time....but we can't afford to buy all the fridges we'd need to keep all our olives!
A lot of work, but delicious olives at the end, none of which have been blasted with "lye" (caustic soda) as used by commercial preservers.