Olives???

[meancat]

Ok --I know that any product that comes in a jar is not raw, but what about green olives that are not packaged in jars?? I'm referring to the Italian and Mediterrean olives that are sold on some salad bars. I was told that these are packaged in large bags or buckets.
I'm confused because I had someone at Whole Foods tell me that all olives are cooked because raw olives are inedible. I was under the impression however, that olives were fermented to get to their chewy constistancy.

I would love to chow on some nice, salty olives!!

Also--does coconut nut oil have a really strong coconut flavor? Not a fan of coconuts but am wanting the advantages of the oil. have heard it has wonderful properties.

thanks all
meancat

[SuziS]

I know there are raw olives out there. Alissa has some in her store.

[shine72]

Alissa sells raw olives. I had asked at a Whole Foods in Maryland when I was on my way up to Alissa's 5-day training. I actually had the guy go back and check ALL the buckets!:) He was sweet, but much to my dismay, NONE of them ones in that salad bar were raw.:rolleyes: HTH!:D

[exurb]

meancat It's not true what the Whole Foods guy said to you. It is that olives need to be CURED to be edible, that is the process where they are in a salt brine.

Olives at olive bars can be raw -- I have followed up with suppliers and all the ones I thought might be raw were actually raw:) . Shine, maybe your nice guy at Whole Foods was just looking for them to say RAW on the package to be assured they're raw, which is reasonable.

Sometimes you can also find olives packed in things like plastic barrels. If you want to be sure of rawness you should check with the manufacturer, or buy from a known raw source.

Or you can also make your own from scratch, by brining fresh olives. I get them by the case at Italian or Greek markets. They are in season this time of year!! It's not hard to do at all!

[Lady Green Jeans]

Adore olives of all kinds. I occasionoally make a trip to Little Italy in San Diego and pick up packaged Italian black olives--they are raw and very delicious. Don't eat as many as I used to, but so enjoy olives with certain things--added perfection is my thinking.

[Lindazkewl]

So when you buy jarred olives, how do you know if they're raw or not? It doesn't say on the label, as far as I can tell.

[Holli]

I'm so glad this post was started. I was just out shopping and wanted to buy olives and couldn't find any raw olives...but I wasn't really sure what to look for...can you get raw olives in a regular store or a hfs?? I ended up getting Kalamata olives...it had red wine vinegar and distilled vinegar in the ingredients, but they tasted healthier than the regular black ones I used to buy in the can. Is it the ingredients (such as the distilled vinegar) that makes it not raw or the actual process of curing the olives that may or may not make it raw??

What about pickles? I love pickles, but I haven't found any that aren't made with distilled vinegar either. Does pickling do anything as far as raw goes??

Olives and pickles would definitely help me fight my salty snacking cravings!

[juliebove]

So when you buy jarred olives, how do you know if they're raw or not? It doesn't say on the label, as far as I can tell.

If it doesn't say, then they're not raw. I bought some raw olives online but was afraid to eat them. One jar came with the lid loose and the brine leaked all over. I threw both jars away.

[meancat]

I was under the impression that anything in jars had to be heat pasturized for shelf life --to seal the jars-- which heats the product wheather it is raw to begin with or not. This has kept me from looking at products in jars to begin with.

I could be so wrong though!! I'm just learning and that's actually a big question for me because I know that you can buy raw food products on line that are in jars. (I'm still waiting for my book from Alissa so forgive me if she covers this area). Any other input on this would be very helpful!!

Also, I looked at the Whole Foods website and they said that very few of their olives are heat pasturized which leads me to think if I stay away from the ones are, I'll be okay.

thanks all
meancat

[Riiiya]

i bought raw olives at a rad food store in Chicago and they were absolutely amazing..but then i ran out of them and craved olives SO much i had to buy some at Meijer.. They were organic and "whole" (what exactly do they mean with that?) and tasted great, but didn't say RAW on them. i assume they were heated in the process one way or another, but heck it's not like i eat a pound of olives in one sitting.. :o

i also wonder about pickles.... i used to adore them- any way they could be bought raw??

[exurb]

pickles you just make. You cant generally buy raw pickles.

Post in Recipes and ask, and I'm sure many recipes will follow.

[crystalmoon]

Hi meancat, Im in the uk & Shazzie's site sells raw olives & also raw foods in jars so i guess some jar food can be raw. HTH

[Lindazkewl]

They were organic and "whole" (what exactly do they mean with that?)

Well, maybe whole as in not sliced, perhaps? :D

[meancat]

Well, I went to Whole foods and bought some olives from their olive bar. I had to. I needed a saltly snack and once I started this thread I COULD NOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM!!
I figured since they are cured in brine, and not heat pasturized, the only thing I really have to worry about is what kind of vinegar and salt they use, and right now I'm just about 100% raw so I figure I'll be okay.

My taste buds were really talking to me last night and I was really thinking about some baaaad food! :eek: :( :eek: The olives helped reel me back in!!

Thanks for all the input everyone!
meancat