food Homemade salamoia olives: batch 2013

[Essegi]

I've a lilttle olive tree that doesn't want to grow. This year i could harvest some olives. If you haven't ever tasted a fresh raw olive don't: it's one of the worst things you can eat!

 

 
The idea is to use:

• olives (really?)
• fennel seeds (sadly i couldn't got some from a wild local species wich is extremely tasty, i bought some on a market)
• oreagno (i had little so i used only for 1 jar, [sarcasm]obviously i was not unprepared but willing to experiment different combinations![/sarcasm]
• garlic (because it's garlic)
• bay luarel leaves (because my uncle said that)
• hot peppers (otherwise i wouldn't post that here and surely would be worse)

I've already done this some years ago and the result was good with my olives (they are too bitter), once with other olives and was better. So not the best to eat, but why waste them?
I didn't remember how much i've bathed them, i search the net and and i hope that this is sufficent. At least if this will be a fail i'll track here.
The plan is to bathe olives changing water everyday, then bottle them with a solution of salt-water. I've just bottled. I think i should wait at least 2 months.
 
Olives!
My harvest in 7th november:

I harvested them during the night... Probably neighbours thougth me mad...
I discarded if there were imperfections: better to use only perfect ones. I suppose to have discarded around 10%.
 
Here the tricky part: i had some remembrances that you need 30 or 45 days with only water. Less with salted water.  A recipe in the net said you need 10 days with salted water... I cured them for 18... I hope it will suffice because the room has not been heathened...
You need to cover them on a 10% salt water solution. Once per day you must change water using this solution.
Here a pic after some days, after many hours of the same solution:
 
http://i.minus.com/iC6Jb1pbndFFM.jpg
 
Water at some point get darker than this.
 
After 18 days (today):

 
How i messed up with garlic:
 
http://i.minus.com/ibwI086QDifHoB.jpg
 
http://i.minus.com/ih3JwCCY5HpxV.jpg
 
I chopped garlic:
 

 
Then i put in a jar with salt:
 
http://i.minus.com/iwjJfVpybo3GL.jpg
 
After a week i wasn't satisfied because i needed them dried up, so i put them in a bowl. See later pic.
Next time probably i'll use only the bowl and maybe not salt...
 
Hot!!!
 
http://i.minus.com/ibolLCj225I9D2.jpg
 
1 is a 7pod, the rest trinidad scorpions (maybe hybrids, some pods were ok as shape, not these)
I cut and dried them well (using ventilated owen at 40°C and an hot room), see later pic.
 
The last water!
For the last solution for the salamoia (vinegary salty) you need to boil it then put more or less 80-90g of cooking salt per liter... Then wait for it to become cold. I boiled 2 liters and was enough.
 
Ingredients prepared!
 

 

 
I noticed some other faulted olives so i discarded them...
 
Bottling:
 
Ok, so i proceded to bottle.Only one jar with all ingredients, all with fennel seeds, only one without garlic, only the biggest 2 with hot peppers...
 
The jar with all:

 
Important!
 
I was forgetting this!!!
 

 
Olives must not stay on air!!!
 
Here all jars together:
 

 
Ok, now cross fingers and wait!!!
I was thinking to use raisins if too bitter...
I'll up this when it's the case...
 
For the moment i can use some garlic spiced salt!xD

 

[Nigel]

Looks fantastic. We have a lot of Olive trees around here, they grow all over the place. The golf course I play at has about 50 of them, with a lot being about 50 years old. I keep thinking I`ll collect the olives and do something with them, but usually just end up doing nothing. 
 
I was under the impression they needed to be treated with lye, but from what you`ve written that mustn`t be the case, so maybe I`ll go and grab some this week and give them a whirl. 
 
Thanks for posting!

 

[Essegi]

Do that! Adding custom "toppings" is fun and works! You don't find everyday olives cured with superhots!
And i bet that California is a very good place for olives! With 50 trees probably you could do some nice quantity of oil.
 
I found a recipe that used lye but it's not necessary, at least i had good results without it in the past. I've never used it so i can't tell it it's better or not...
Just to clarify, i'm not sure to have waited long enough.
Another thing: aside olives, i used only dried ingredients (i don't know if with vinegar salty you can use fresh things aside olives, i didin't want to risk). Of course it's better to vacuum seal (i can't say i did with a sure method...).

 

[scratchzilla]

Moved to Cooking With Fire at OP's request.

 

[Burning Colon]

thanks for posting, makes for an interesting read.
 
before immigrating to canada, in the 1920's, my grandparents came from san martino di lupari. now i know what kind of terrain they must have seen daily..... but i am guessing in black and white.

 

[DeBo]

Wish I could grow my own olive tree

 

[Essegi]

It's a beautiful tree indeed. Sadly mine has problems, we planted 3 but we had to eradicate 2 (an uncle of mine is trying to grow these 2 trees btw).
 

thanks for posting, makes for an interesting read.
 
before immigrating to canada, in the 1920's, my grandparents came from san martino di lupari. now i know what kind of terrain they must have seen daily..... but i am guessing in black and white.

Oh, nice! 60km from my home! Other place but same vegetation i think!

 

[PIC 1]

Nice process, what would make the olives bitter ?

Any grape vineyards nearby your home ?

 

[Essegi]

I suppose this kind of olives is more bitter than others (once i used my aunt olives, the bitter was completely gone and olives were truly good). I don't remember the name of this specie, only that the tree is more resistant than other kind. My place is not ideal, but near there are some good evo oil producers (but it's extremely expensive and i prefer south Italy type). Of course places like Puglia or Sicily are a lot better for olives...
There are lots of grape vineyards, but not in immediate surroundings (said that i would have no idea what effect could they have on the olive tree).

 

[texas blues]

Great thread Essegi.
 
I can only dream of having an olive tree or two.
 
In my ideal world I'd have a couple olive trees, a couple fig trees, lime and lemon trees and several avocado trees.
 
Too bad the winters here in north texas are too cold for any of those.
 
Way cool that you are processing the olives without the use of lye and am looking forward to your evaluation after they've aged in the jars for a while.

 

[Essegi]

Thanks!
Here probably we are at limit... During winter night is always below 0°C, sometimes below -5... Today in the car i've spotted a point at 0°C 1 hour ago (and not on hill)... I've also 2 lemon trees in vase (now we keep them inside, they are more ornamental than productive) and a fig wich is growing very fast!
 
Anyway, maybe do courier sent raw olives have low cost if someone want try that? I've no idea how much trading there is for that...

 

[Essegi]

A quick update: toady i opened a can... Too early but i just wanted to see... I opened the one wih only olives and fennel seed (the most expendable):
 
 

 

 

 
....
They are too bitter! I fear i have washed them too little... And i dind't count that these 18 days were 18 days in a part of the house not heathened...I hope in a month they became sweteer... I suppose 30 days instead 18 of wahing would be better... I'll remeber for next year.
It will be a good thing to remove the pit before final salamoia, but this time i didn't want, it's boring.
 
Aside that taste itself is good and solidity is great... Just only fennel seeds are already a great thing!
 
So i put them to use:
 

 

 

 
Fennel aroma is good in that stuff. But olives themselves are still too bitter.
Let's see in a month!

 

[Penny]

Well done, the jars look amazing...too bad they still taste biter, fingers crossed that in a month they'll be better.
 
Nice nacho's too.

 

[Essegi]

Thanks, nahcos are from a market of course.

 

[Penny]

True, but the salsa is your's...

 

[Essegi]

Today i finished other olives from first jar... Way too bitter. And a little too salty.
2 things: bathed too less, probabily too late harvest.
Plan for next year: harvest before, around half october, harvest some different olives, bathe them 30-45 days, remove the pit then put in jars.
 
And now?
I'm preparing other garlic:

 
Unloaded jars:

 
Removed the pit:

That's boooooring! Took me over an hour! And olives are a bit small for my tool...
 
I washed them well then bathe again

 
Now i keep them here till bitter is gone away, changing water everyday, no salt for now...
Then final salamoia with 80 g/L (not 90).
 
Unfortunately i have no more habanero or superhots... I've calabrese peppers that aren't bad.

 

[Essegi]

Oooooooooooooooooook.... After a week bitter has gone away... First day i changed water lots of times... Second i guess still 4 times... Then less. Now they're well washed and pour out little...
 

 
I taste garlic, fennel seeds and a bit peppers...
 
Here a try with all toppings, i'd say high quality, not all jars are with all:

 
That time no fennel seeds but anise seeds... Should be better.
Homegrown and homemade dried garlic.
Dried thyme leaves and dried juniper berries: they're wild, i took them somewhere in my hills, far from pollution.
Dried calabrese peppers: that are very good with olives.
 
Canned with a solution of 80g/1L water

 
That time should be good. Updates when i'll open one.

 

[JayT]

Some day I would love to try them!

 

[Penny]

That last dish with the peppers and olives, looks good....good luck with them

 

[Essegi]

Thanks!
 
A bit too early, i've given a try:
 

Liquid is bright, seems well washed
 

That jar has all but juniper berries.
 

 

 

 
That time no bitter at all!
And taste is good, consistence still great!
Too early, anise seed have still to release some flavour.
Overall flavor is very good, only thing i'm not fully convinced is garlic aroma, maybe it was too much or i need it dried in another way...
Not best olives i've taste or made, but now worth to be eaten!
And in the next month thing should only get better.