Olives in brine Calabrian style
In October and November in Calabria, the olive harvest takes place. They start with the green olives to be prepared by crushing them, then it is the turn of the olives in brine and then those to be taken to the oil mill to make oil.
But the olives are not only picked green, they are also left to ripen on the trees until they turn purple, or even riper and then black to be prepared in salt or in the oven.
Olives in brine Calabrian style, ingredients
- 2kg of olives
- 1.5l of water
- Salt to taste
- Bay leaves to taste
- Black pepper grains to taste
- Fennel seeds to taste
- Garlic to taste
- Chilli pepper to taste
Olives in brine Calabrian style, the recipe
First of all, let's get some good, ripe green olives and wash them thoroughly. Cover the olives with cold water and leave them to soak, changing the water at least once a day, so that they lose their bitter taste. There is no need to add salt.
There is no precise indication of the number of days required for this procedure, it depends on the type of olives used and their degree of ripeness.
When the olives are ready (after at least 10 days) we drain them. At this point we simply boil the water with salt and leave it to cool. When it is cold we use it to cover the olives in the brine jars. You need 70g of salt for every litre of water and every 2kg of olives.
Once the brine has cooled, we can put the olives in the jars and cover them with the liquid. We add garlic, chilli, fennel seeds and bay leaves, then close the jars.
Olives in brine are good to eat after two months and will keep for a couple of years.
