Salt-Cured Ripe Olives Recipe

These flavorful, if bitter, shriveled dry-cured olives - sometimes called oil-cured - will not keep nearly as well as brine-cured olives. Because of that and the fact that they are so pungent and not to everybody's liking, you might want to make only a small quantity of them. Use olives that are black or almost black. Mission olives are the best because of their high oil content and small size. Extra-large olives, such as the Sevillano, become soft.

Cover the bottom of a thick cardboard or wooden box with burlap or cheesecloth. In the box, mix together equal weights of non-iodized salt and olives. Spread out evenly; then pour a layer of non-iodized salt over the olives so that nearly all of them are covered, using an additional pound or so of salt. Place the box outdoors in the shade or in a basement so any liquid that oozes from it will not stain a floor or decking. Stir the salt-covered olives well with a wooden spoon once a week for four weeks, or until the olives are cured. They should be slightly bitter.

Remove the olives from the salt by hand (unfortunately, I have found no better method). Dip the olives in a large pot of rapidly boiling water for a few seconds; then drain in a colander and refresh with cold tap water. After spreading them out on paper towels, let them dry for a few hours or overnight. Those olives you wish to eat within a few days should be coated with fruity olive oil (rub them with your fingers to distribute the oil), mixed with your favorite herbs, and kept in the refrigerator in a tightly capped jar. The remainder of the olives should be mixed at a ratio of two parts olives to one part non-iodized salt by weight and kept in a cool place or refrigerated. They do not keep more than a month.

Recipe Source: The Feast of the Olive by Maggie Blyth Klein (Aris Books)
Reprinted with permission.