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<pre>I have just tried pickling some olives using the following recipe:

I washed the olives and sterilized the jars then packed the olives in the
jars with a brine of 100g salt to 1 litre of water and poured a little olive
oil on the top. I then put lids on the jars to seal them.

By the next day the bottles were fizzing and the oil and brine slowly oozing
out past the lids and down the jars.

Where did I go wrong? Can these be eaten once the process is complete and
has anyone got any tips for next time?

Janine
Waipara New Zealand
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<pre>> By the next day the bottles were fizzing and the oil and brine slowly
oozing
> out past the lids and down the jars.

Olive curing is a fermentation process not dissimilar to beer making.
That's why they have a one-way breather valve on their beer.

> Where did I go wrong? Can these be eaten once the process is complete and
> has anyone got any tips for next time?

I would not try this commercially but simply get rid of the slough that
occurs and increase your salinity. They can be eaten in about a month or
so. Just have an occasional bite to taste. If they please your palate then
they are done.

The "fizzing" occurs with olive oil as well and that is why there is still a
one-way breather valve in the settler tanks, until the oil is settled. One
draws off the sedimentation that may occur on a day to day basis for about a
week, depending on the varietal. With the M's you do it longer.

Regards
Peter Caird
www.victorianolivegroves.com
AUSTRALIA



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<pre>> I have just tried pickling some olives using the following recipe:
>
> I washed the olives and sterilized the jars then packed the olives in the
> jars with a brine of 100g salt to 1 litre of water and poured a little
olive
> oil on the top. I then put lids on the jars to seal them.
>
> By the next day the bottles were fizzing and the oil and brine slowly
oozing
> out past the lids and down the jars.
>
> Where did I go wrong? Can these be eaten once the process is complete and
> has anyone got any tips for next time?
>
> Janine
> Waipara New Zealand

Janine,

You have done nothing wrong at all!

The Hunter Olive Association invited Prof Stan Kailis to give us a
presentation on how to pickle olives in March, and that is exactly the
method Stan recommended. There are two important points with the technique:

1. Ensure that the salt level stays at 10%. It will drop as some of the salt
is absorbed by the olives.
2. Ensure that no air is allowed in contact with the fermentation. This as
an anaerobic fermentation, so the presence of air will cause spoilage.

Stan will probably be able to help you with the finer points and explain the
somewhat complicated chemistry & biology going on. His e-mail is
kailis@... .

Regards,

Mike Wilson.
Hunter Olive Association.
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