OLIVE PICKLING METHODS 347 



quality is one of the most difficult propositions in our horticultural 

 manufacturing, and we can but admire the wisdom of the Spaniard in 

 teaching Anglo-Saxons to enjoy green olives. To succeed with the ripe 

 olive requires the utmost patience, experience, and intelligence, and one 

 who undertakes it must not get weary of the most exhaustive study of 

 difficulties that may arise and how to meet them. When the most care- 

 ful picklers with the best appliances sometimes lose hundreds of dollars 

 worth in spite of all they know about it, the difficulty of the matter 

 may be appreciated. 



The following is an outline of the pickling of olives as drawn from 

 the University publications by Professor Bioletti : 



The pickling of olives involves three steps : I. Treatment with lye to neutral- 

 ize the acidity and bitterness. 2. Repeated soaking in water to remove the 

 excess of lye. 3. Salting by soaking in brines of gradually increasing strengths. 



(1) Neutralization. Soak the olives for twelve hours in a solution made by 

 dissolving 1% pounds of caustic potash in 12 gallons of water. Very bitter 

 olives may require a second treatment with fresh lye (Mission, Manzanillo, 

 Sevillano) ; sweeter olives may require a weaker lye (Ascolano, Columbella). 

 With soft olives, \ l /2 pounds of salt should be added to the lye. The olives should 

 be kept submerged by means of a floating cover and the lye drawn from the 

 bottom and poured over the top two or three times to insure equal treatment. 



(2) Soaking. When, by examination of the color of the flesh of the olives, 

 it is found that the lye has penetrated nearly to the pit, they should be removed 

 to pure water. This water is renewed at least once a day until the lye is removed, 

 which requires two or three days. With soft olives, a brine containing about 

 two pounds of salt to twelve gallons of water should be used for removing the lye. 



(3) .Salting. When the lye and most of the bitterness have been removed 

 the olives should be placed in stronger brine. If the olives are to be canned or 

 bottled, a brine containing about five pounds of salt to twelve gallons of water 

 is sufficiently strong. If they are to be kept in barrels ten or twelve pounds of 

 salt will be needed. The olives must be prepared for the strong brine gradually 

 by being placed in new brines every three to four days. Each brine should be 

 about two per cent stronger than the last. 



Precautions. Strong lye tends to soften the fruit. A second 

 treatment is weak lye is better for bitter olives than a strong lye. Salt 

 has a tendency to harden the fruit and can be used to counteract the 

 softening effect of the lye with very ripe olives. Strong brine will 

 shrink and shrivel the olives, unless they are prepared for it by solu- 

 tions of gradually increasing strengths. 



Color. With ripe pickles, the object is to have the color as uni- 

 form and dark as possible. Uniformity is obtained by pickling each 

 variety by itself, by having the fruit as evenly ripe as possible and by 

 exposing the olives to each solution in as uniform a manner as possible. 

 Spotting comes usually from unevenness of the lye treatment, and 

 especially from allowing some olives to float on the surface. Depth 

 of color is obtained by having the olives thoroughly ripe. By exposing 

 the olives to the air for several hours between the various solutions, 

 both the depth and uniformity of the color are increased. 



With green olives, the air should be excluded as much as possible, 

 until the final brine is reached. A little vinegar improves both the color 

 and flavor of green olives. Some picklers advise the addition also of a 

 few bay leaves. 



