Rasins? Olives?

[qcumber]

How do I know if rasins and olives are raw or not?

[organicorange]

Hi! I know that for raisins, if the package says "sun-dried" then they should be ok..... I'm not so sure with olives though

[rawpriestess]

ANYTHING in a can or a jar, has been "canned" which mean it has gone through really high heat.

There are some things like olives that are in jars, but are not "canned" so you can buy olives from some websites, I believe www.rawfood.com has the best price and olives.

also, you don't want anything like raisins to be dehydrated with sulfites,as they are highly poisonous to humans, so it is best to also buy them from raw food websites or from reputable health food stores.

[cordeliaflyte]

i wonder about the olives at places like whole foods (health food supermarket chain) -- they come hand-packed in little plastic tubs. but where did they come from before that? maybe i'll ask next time in in there.

[cordeliaflyte]

i asked a nice fellow at whole foods about the origin of their "gourmet" olives -- the ones that come in hand-packed plastic tubs in the cheese (ew!) section. good news! he says they come in big buckets on boats, directly from where they are grown in France and Greece. at whole foods, they take them out of the buckets and put them in the plastic tubs. so... this would lead me to believe they are fresh and raw. you think? they have tons of varieties -- even a new one that comes with some kind of exotic Greek seaweed. the only downside, of course, is the price... but ordering olives from far away is expensive too.

[Pink_Berry]

that is good news about the olives...

ive never in my life even tried an olive... and since starting raw over a year ago have always wondered what they taste like.. because im sure i'd enjoy them...

i DID try them when i was younger but found them revolting lol

just didnt think you could find raw olives besides in places where they are acually grown... very cool!!

are they always packed in oil tho? i dont like that.

[rawpriestess]

Olives are naturally green, the black ones become that way because of the lye they are cured in.

Curing occurs when they place the olives in a salt, brine solution.

Usually raw olives are labeled raw.

You can buy them on line, they are expensive, but you usually don't eat tons at one time. I buy mine from the local deli, and they are greek olives, with the pits still in. They are delicious.

[VeganVixen]

yes ,I buy mine from a local russian store ,Im PRETTY sure they are raw because they are in containers in the fridge ,they taste different too.

[Sharon in Colorado]

RP there are some that are really black. In my old neighborhood there was an olive tree with black olives all over the ground. They turn black after they age. I guess, like prunes? Also, NFL sells these raw black olives. They sent me a complimentary jar but I didn't like them at all because they were very dry and tasteless.

[Tracie]

Pink Berry....if you try some and dont like them, dont give up. There are so many different kinds and they all tasted very different. Enjoy your new adventure, trying olives. Yum.



that is good news about the olives...

ive never in my life even tried an olive... and since starting raw over a year ago have always wondered what they taste like.. because im sure i'd enjoy them...

i DID try them when i was younger but found them revolting lol

just didnt think you could find raw olives besides in places where they are acually grown... very cool!!

are they always packed in oil tho? i dont like that.

[PixieGreen]

Sharon, on an olive growers site I read that olives cured in brine like the one NFL sells are supposed to be soaked [in water] to release some of the salt and improve flavor before eating. I wish they'd put that on the label!

Christa

[Rawsomeone]

Newbie asking: what is "NFL"?

[sachis2112]

I believe that's "Nature's First Law" or www.rawfood.com

[Amethyst_Rain]

yeah NFL sent me some of those complimentory raw olives...i think they're trying to get rid of them cause nobody likes them hahaha...they are pretty gross, and i'm an olive lover...but they said if you soak them in sea salt water for a couple days they taste better...i tried that, it made them better but still way too bitter...i still have 3 jars in my fridge yuck! :) but try them for yourself, mabe you like them :)

[asil]

Olives are naturally green, the black ones become that way because of the lye they are cured in.

Curing occurs when they place the olives in a salt, brine solution.

Usually raw olives are labeled raw.

You can buy them on line, they are expensive, but you usually don't eat tons at one time. I buy mine from the local deli, and they are greek olives, with the pits still in. They are delicious.

We planted a couple of olive trees a few years ago so I did a small bit of research on preparing them. We haven't had a harvest yet, so I haven't looked at that info in a while but here's what I remember:

green olives are simply not yet ripe

ripe olives are naturally black

ripe olives are pretty bitter, so the curing process is to remove that bitterness.

there are a number of ways to cure olives. The most notorious method, the one familiar to many Americans because it was perfected by the Lindsay company, involved super-heating, and curing in lye. The purpose was to make the olives really bland to appeal to (at that time) middle-America's taste for bland foods. Other methods include soaking in brine; soaking in seasoned oil; sun and salt curing. None of these methods *necessarily* involve high heat, but who knows what companies do to make things shippable.

Hope this helps.

[Amethyst_Rain]

what exactly is brine?

[asil]

Brine is salt water, sometimes seasoned.

[VeganVixen]

a lot of time brine has microscopic shrimp in it ,which would not make it vegan.....

[Sharon in Colorado]

there are a number of ways to cure olives. The most notorious method, the one familiar to many Americans because it was perfected by the Lindsay company, involved super-heating, and curing in lye.

Hope this helps.

Do you think they still cure in lye today? Man, if that's the case, no more of those olives for me! I thought Lindsay were the least processed and best tasting.

About the NFL olives, I gave the whole jar to one of the co-op members. I was thinking about soaking them, but never did.

Lately I really dig these little French shriveled black olives at the Whole Foods bulk olive bar. They are pretty salty and made with provencial herbs. I left a comment card that they need to start a frequent olive buyer's club (like a punch card), with a free 8 oz tub after the 12th purchase!

[Amethyst_Rain]

i get my olives usually from this little italian market...they are in these big tubs (bulk) and not refridgerated..i get the black sundried ones...I'm not sure if they are really raw though...they're really salty...they don't taste like the ones in cans...it's so hard to tell hey? ughhh

[asil]

I'm sorry to say that Lindsay olives are *seriously* processed. That's what gives them that very bland flavor, like no other olive in the world. If I remember correctly they patented the process, which involves super-steam heating, soaking in lye, then heat canning.

Really, if you eat cooked foods, lye curing is really no big deal, especially compared to some modern factory food techniques. It's the ancient method of corn preparation in Meso-America, that allowed proteins to be liberated from corn. It's what makes corn into corn masa and allows millions of people to survive on virtually nothing else but corn. It's an excellent technique to avoid mass famine. One big difference is that ancient meso-Americans used the mild lye made by soaking wood ash in water. The super-strong lye used by commercial food processors is probably different in a thousand scary ways.

Anyway, all that is moot to us, I guess, since we're not starving and can choose, not based on minimal survival but for optimum nutrition. :)


Do you think they still cure in lye today? Man, if that's the case, no more of those olives for me! I thought Lindsay were the least processed and best tasting.

About the NFL olives, I gave the whole jar to one of the co-op members. I was thinking about soaking them, but never did.

Lately I really dig these little French shriveled black olives at the Whole Foods bulk olive bar. They are pretty salty and made with provencial herbs. I left a comment card that they need to start a frequent olive buyer's club (like a punch card), with a free 8 oz tub after the 12th purchase!

[DennisMB]

I love black olives so was really up set to find out they are not RAW. I ordered some RAW black olives from an online e-store and they arrived last week. I tried one and man, they are totally gross. Now dont eat olives any more. :-(((

[asil]

a lot of time brine has microscopic shrimp in it ,which would not make it vegan.....

Perhaps you are thinking of brine shrimp, which live in very salty lakes? Because brine that is used to prepare food is simply water, to which one adds salt and sometimes spices. No shrimp there!

But back to the topic of raw olives. Next time I go to Central Market, which has the best olive bar in town, I'm going to ask the buyer just what brine cured and salt cured mean. Maybe they don't overheat those tasty little devils. Here's hoping!