Salted olives are preserved with salt and can be made at home. They eliminate bitterness and soften the olives, but can be too intense for some. They are rinsed, dried, and can be packed in oil or repackaged in salt. Mold can be a problem and they have a bitter flavor. They are often served as a snack and can be used in various dishes.
Salted olives are olives that have been treated and preserved with salt. Salt curing is one of several curing options for olives and one of the oldest and most traditional. There are different styles of salted olives that can be used in a variety of ways, and many markets have one or two versions of salted olives. For people with access to fresh olives, salted olives can also be made at home relatively easily.
This cure works best on black olives, although the olives can be any size. To salt the olives, the olives are simply covered in non-iodized salt and left to sit in a cool, dry place for up to four weeks. To help the liquids drain from the olives, the container may be lined with a cloth or dotted with small holes, and the olives should be stirred periodically so they don’t sit in their juices.
As the salting progresses, it eliminates the bitterness common to fresh olives and softens the olives so they can be eaten. However, salt curing does not lose all the bitterness and tends to concentrate the aromas of the olives, resulting in a slightly salty, bitter and tart final product that some people find a little too intense.
After four weeks, the salted olives are typically rinsed in hot water to remove the salt and allowed to dry completely before being packed in oil or repackaged in salt. Repackaging preserves the olives for a longer period of time, while packing in oil generates ready-to-use olives. Oily olives can also be seasoned with herbs and spices.
When making salted olives at home, cooks should be aware that mold can become a problem. To reduce the risk of mold, olives should be thoroughly covered in salt during the curing process and stirred frequently. After the olives have been rinsed and packed in oil, they should be stored in the refrigerator and should be used within a month. However, olives packed with normal salt require periodic rotation and must be stored in a cool, dry place. They will keep for one to three months, depending on climate and storage conditions.
Salted olives are often served as a snack, but they can also be baked into bread, included in various dishes and used as a side dish. Cooks should be aware of the somewhat bitter flavor: Salted olives don’t make a good substitute for other types of olives in recipes, as the intensity of the flavor can become overwhelming.
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