Salted Olives are a recipe to make during the olive harvest season, so I apologize if I’m a little late for those who would have liked to make it. I’m certainly not late for those who appreciate this tasty appetizer, and maybe want to know some information.
Preserving olives in salt is an infallible method for preserving them all year round, so if you perhaps receive a small jar as a gift, rest assured that you do not have to consume it immediately.
The olives must lose all their liquid and with it the bitter aftertaste. In fact, salt is able to absorb the watery substances of the olives without making them salty!
The first requirement is that the olives are not bruised, but are healthy and fleshy.
Preparation: the freshly picked olives are washed and dried with a clean cloth. take a large container or several large containers, I use large hermetic glass jars for preserving, and with coarse salt – but I use fine Volterra salt which is very moist-
So make a layer of olives and a layer of salt, a layer of olives and one of salt. Continue until you leave 2 cm from the closure of the jar, so that you can also close it and shake it.
Keep the salt in the olives for 10 days, taking care to remove the vegetation water that will come out of the olives every day. The olives will also change color. They will be ready when they have completely lost their bitterness.
So …. the operation is simple, but it takes patience and method!
If they are not ready after 10 days, wash them and repeat the operation. Then keep them in salt until they are ready.
When they are sweet, wash them to remove the excess salt, drain them well and then dry them with a clean cloth.
Once dry, transfer them into the glass jar and dress them with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. They can be flavored with garlic, rosemary, mint, orange or lemon peel.
The jars can be stored in the fridge, in the cellar, as long as it is a cool and dark place.
