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Preserved Olives

19/5/2012

 

Preserved Olives

Picture
Preserved olives a la Lizzy
Near the murmuring
In the grain fields, of the waves
Of wind in the oat-stalks
The olive tree
With its silver-covered mass
Severe in its lines
In its twisted
Heart in the earth:
The graceful
Olives
Polished
By the hands
Which made
The dove
And the oceanic
Snail:
Green,
Inumerable,
Immaculate
Nipples
Of nature...

Ode to Olive Oil / Oda al aceite

- Pablo Neruda 1904-1973
Picture
Come stroll with me in the olive grove of my dreams, on a hillside covered with twisted olive trees, their silver branches laden with fruit ready to be harvested. Oh yes, it's good to have a dream. And there's something rather alluring about olives and olive trees, don't you agree?

As Anne Dolamore reminds us in The Essential Olive Oil Companion, 'The history of the olive weaves its way through myths and legends, wars and treaties, commerce and culture, theology, medicine and gastronomy. Its precise origins are lost back in the mists of time. However, the olive could be viewed as a bench mark of civilisation itself. [And] who first discovered the uses of the olive and how to extract the unctuous oil no one really knows'.

Let's dip into a little of the history of olives in Australia. Although Captain John Macarthur has been credited for the fact, the first olive tree was brought to Australia in 1800 by market gardener, George Suttor. Olives were planted across the country throughout the 1800s, until an olive oil slump in 1897 saw cases of South Australian olive oil shipped to Britain to be given away to charity. In the 1940s, migrants from the Mediterranean region arrived in the Adelaide region to find neglected olive groves. Australians found a new passion for olive oil in the 1980s and 90s, thanks to the migrant Greeks and Italians. The love affair continues.

When Peter and I bought our blue house together, one of the first items we purchased was an olive tree. Olive trees are recognised as a symbol of peace and happiness and, although we quibbled about whether we should buy a standard olive tree or an espaliered specimen (he wanted the standard, I the espaliered...  he now wishes we chose the espaliered!), our olive tree has been a constant source of genuine delight and interest for both of us. Three years on, we have two olive trees in pots in our courtyard and, to our great joy, the larger of the two produced 12 olives this season! 

I sought guidance from Twitter on how best to preserve our 'bountiful harvest'. My twitter friend, fellow cook Louis D'Cruz quickly responded, advising that he had experimented with seven different methods of curing olives and the recipe he would share with me was his favourite. I knew I was in good hands, for Louis had months earlier tweeted to me that his olives had won a Royal Agricultural Society award in 2011. Louis advises that with this method of preservation, the olives should be still crunchy, lightly salted and with a light lemon flavour. 

Here is my adaptation of the recipe, courtesy of Louis. Bear in mind that I had a dozen olives, not a kilo, so when I amended the quantities when I was working with my 'load'. I have yet to taste the final product, but must say that they made my mouth water every morning as I changed the water and added fresh lemon juice!

PRESERVED OLIVES
1 kilo large olives
16 lemons
water
light brine solution: 100g salt per 1 litre of water

Lightly smash or crack the olives in a mortar and pestle (take care not to squash them, you only want to split the skin and keep the stone intact). Place the olives in a non-reactive bowl (such as pyrex). Cover with water and the juice of two lemons. The next day, tip out the water, rinse the olives, refresh with more water and the juice of two more lemons. Do this every day for six more days.

Taste the olives. If they still taste bitter, continue the process for another two or three days. When you are ready to bottle the olives, sterilise a jar. Rinse the olives and place them into the jar. Fill the jar with the light brine solution. Seal. Note: I added a strip of two of lemon zest to the jar. This is an experiment and I will provide an update on the flavour in due course.

Thank you Louis for your generosity and love of cooking! I look forward to your guest post when you are ready!
Picture
The olive grove of my dreams. Image courtesy of Pizzodisevo.
Picture
Our pride and joy: olive growing on a tree in a pot in the courtyard, one of 12 (olives) I harvested this season
Picture
The olives were harvested in late Autumn, when they turned purple/black
Picture
Award winning preserves by my twitter friend and fellow cook, Louis D'Cruz, who kindly shared his receipt for preserved olives with me. This photo courtesy of Louis.

The process in pictures... pick, crack, soak, rinse, brine, bottle...

Picture
My olives preserved in light brine with a little lemon zest

Tell me, do you like olives? Do you grow them? Have you tried preserving olives?
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Maureen link
19/5/2012 01:00:12 am

I LOVE this post! It makes me want olives. :)

Lizzy
19/5/2012 12:31:52 pm

Hi Maureen! Do you grow olives?

BrittArnhild link
19/5/2012 03:48:10 am

Somehow I found your blog in twitter. I am glad I did, this is a great place :-)

Lizzy
20/5/2012 10:50:17 pm

Britt, thank you! Very kind of you ; )

Jane @ Shady Baker
19/5/2012 11:34:12 am

Wonderful Lizzy, love the opening poem. This looks like another great technique from your kitchen! We are always looking for new and improved ways to preserve olives. We have around 300 trees planted around our woolshed...we planted them for shade and shelter and the olives are now a bonus. Last year we pressed our first oil. We preserve a few and the process is always being adjusted. Happy Sunday :)

Lizzy
19/5/2012 12:37:03 pm

Oh Jane, I cannot wait to visit your place someday (should I be invited, of course). It sounds so wonderful... fruit trees, olive trees. I'm delighted to know that you have pressed your first oil. How was it?!! Louis should take all the credit for this recipe... he is the blue ribbon winner. Thanks for calling in and happy Sunday to you too, my friend!

Jane @ Shady Baker
19/5/2012 01:16:59 pm

You are welcome any time you feel like an escape to the outback Lizzy!

Louis D'Cruz
19/5/2012 11:41:56 am

I'm glad it worked out, Liz....Congratulations!.....and amazing photos, as usual! :)

Lizzy
19/5/2012 12:38:37 pm

No Louis, congratulations all go to you, my friend. You are an amazing cook and I look forward to working with you more (even if just in the sharing of ideas and recipes) in the future. Thank you so much!

And, incidentally, anyone reading this should also see my post on Chooks, which features a snippet about Louis and his chickens.

Lizzy
19/5/2012 02:37:05 pm

Aw, Jane, thanks ever so much... sincere thanks. That would be awesome!

InTolerant Chef
19/5/2012 04:45:15 pm

Did you say you live in a blue house, so do we! Obviously we both have great taste Lizzy :)
Our little olive tree has non yet, but I have been gleaning the neighborhood and picked a kilo or so to pickle. Thanks!

Lizzy
19/5/2012 09:14:01 pm

You have very good taste! I LOVE our blue house! You can see the colour in the background in the pics of the olives above. LOL, where did you find the ones you picked?

InTolerant Chef
25/5/2012 12:32:35 pm

Neglected neighborhood trees and a few from an old garden center site. It nearly breaks my heat to see them go to waste!

Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
19/5/2012 06:24:31 pm

Great photos! I've never preserved olives but now you've given me a reason to start!

Lizzy
19/5/2012 09:14:33 pm

Thank you, Laura. I had never done them either, and to be honest, it was a real delight to do. Thanks for visiting!

Thyme (Sarah) link
20/5/2012 10:42:56 am

I love how I've never even thought how olives get preserved much less preserving my own and deciding on the flavors. Thank for such an interesting idea.

Lizzy
20/5/2012 10:44:53 pm

Hello Sarah, thanks so much for stopping by! Love your work by the way!

Anna @ the shady pine link
20/5/2012 07:28:19 pm

Olives are food of the gods....I could eat my body weight in olives....no truly I lie not!

Lizzy
20/5/2012 10:45:28 pm

Anna, how wonderful! Do you grow the fruit of the Gods?

Mandy - The Complete Cook Book link
20/5/2012 09:50:08 pm

Beautifully done and photographed.
:-) Mandy

Lizzy
20/5/2012 10:45:55 pm

Mandy, thank you! ; )

Me and My Sweets
20/5/2012 10:51:21 pm

Hi,

I’ve started My Sweet Party, where I every month host a party with a theme (MAY theme is CHOCOLATE). The party is ongoing the entire duration of the month and then I will choose my top three favourites and feture those blogs. I would LOVE you to join My Sweet Party!

Johanna xxx

Lizzy
20/5/2012 10:53:38 pm

Hello Johanna, that's very kind of you! I participate in the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, so I will pass on your kind invitation. Thanks for popping in. ; )

ChopinandMysaucepan link
21/5/2012 11:39:10 pm

Dear Lizzy,

I chuckled when I saw your tweet about whether to preserve 12 olives and as Gerry Harvey would say, "why not"??

I laughed counting the 12 olives on this beautiful post. They look so fresh and I love the colours of the fruit and your process from tree to jar. Awesome!!

Lizzy
22/5/2012 06:14:24 pm

Dear Chopinand, thank you for your kind words. I really didn't want to see such beautiful fruit go to waste. They made my mouth water all the time that I was changing the water and lemon juice. I can't wait to try them! Thank you for visiting ; )

moya link
22/5/2012 01:08:15 am

You really do live up to the name Bizzy Lizzy, posts on olives, pears, mushrooms, lamb shanks, butter balls and cookbooks, etc.! Beautiful photography to feast the eyes on! :)

Lizzy
22/5/2012 06:15:41 pm

Moya, LOL, thank you. Thank you very much for your very kind words ; )

Jennifer link
22/5/2012 12:08:33 pm

I was never really an olive lover, I think because my only experience had been with black olives, and well for some reason they just don't agree with me. But I've since discovered green Sicilian style olives and I love them, especially preserved with some lemon and garlic.

Lizzy
22/5/2012 06:17:03 pm

Jennifer, if I am to be completely honest, I am not a huge fan of olives either. They are usually too bitter or too salty for me. Having said this, I love the anchovy stuffed Spanish olives, in small amounts. And I can't wait to taste my own preserved olives! The lemon and garlic sound yummy.

Christine (FoodWineTravel) link
22/5/2012 01:12:49 pm

Another lovely post, Liz. Lucky you, getting 12 olives! One of our trees was laden with blossoms then we lost the lot during all the rain. I look forward to hearing how it all goes (and perhaps tasting an olive or two!)

Lizzy
22/5/2012 06:17:59 pm

Thank you Christine. The smaller of our two trees was covered in tiny little fruits, but all were lost in the rain. However, these 12 precious little beauties made it. Very chuffed!

Claire @ Claire K Creations link
22/5/2012 03:05:53 pm

I can't wait to see how they turn out. I bet you have special plans for them too!

Lizzy
22/5/2012 06:18:24 pm

I can't either, Claire. Peter suggested pizza!

Amanda link
23/5/2012 01:49:17 am

Lovely post and wonderful images, thanks Lizzy. I'm enjoying plenty of olives and olive products here in Italy at the moment - and loving it all!

Lizzy
23/5/2012 09:07:35 am

Awesome, Amanda. Loved your photographs and trip roundup. Looking forward to reading more! Thanks for visiting my friend.

celia link
23/5/2012 11:22:44 pm

Lizzy, I'm sure they will turn out brilliantly. I love that you're going to all this trouble with your first 12 olives - they will be very special indeed, I'm sure! :)

Lizzy
25/5/2012 01:23:52 am

Oh Celia, thank you! I was certainly not going to waste these precious little gems. Thank you for your kind words ; )

Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy link
23/5/2012 11:25:42 pm

It is my dream to one day have an olive grove. Congratulations on your bounty Lizzy!

Lizzy
25/5/2012 01:24:14 am

LOL, thank you... I am proud of my LITTLE bounty!

Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake link
24/5/2012 03:09:00 am

LOVE your photos, they're so crisp and pretty...

Lizzy
25/5/2012 01:24:34 am

Thanks so much! And thank you for visiting!

Barbara link
25/5/2012 01:09:23 am

Oh I know this poem. It's lovely isn't it. When we lived in NZ I planted 3 olive trees in my front garden. They grew into massive trees and kept us supplied in olives all year. I hope you enjoy yours.

Lizzy
26/5/2012 03:58:17 am

I'm so glad I have a food blogger friend out there who knows and loves some of these poems that I'm showcasing. Such beautiful words, aren't they! Three olives trees! How wonderful. How did you preserve them, Barbara?

Barbara link
26/5/2012 11:54:49 am

Here. I posted a few years back.
http://www.winosandfoodies.com/2006/04/how_to_cure_oli.html


Comments are closed.

    Welcome...

    Üdvözölöm
    Photo of Liz Posmyk, Food Writer, Cook and Traveller

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Good Things is written and published by Liz Posmyk © 2011-2019.   All rights reserved.
Excerpts may be used provided that full and clear credit is given. Thank you.


Photos used under Creative Commons from alantankenghoe, riptheskull, David Jackmanson, Amani Hasan, SuntanMidori, oropeza, Annie Mole, Vegan Feast Catering, avlxyz, jeffreyw, mockstar, jenly, Syeefa Jay, pizzodisevo (therapy - terapia - Therapie), ginnerobot, cliff1066™, Jim, the Photographer
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