curing olives...what am i doing wrong?

[kaybee]

i got some raw, fresh, uncured green olives from wholefoods. i thought i was following the directions people had offered for curing them...but theyre turning brown...

two days ago i made a cut in each one, put them in a glass jar, filled it up with water, then added 1/4 cup of celtic sea salt. i thought i was supposed to just leave them, uncovered, and change the saltwater ?weekly? the ones that are near the top are turning brown, probably because they float and they have a bit of air contact.... is this supposed to happen? also wont the water get all slimy after a week?

thx
kb

[lafsalot]

Are you keeping your olives in the fridge while curing? Also, have you been changing the salt water weekly? ~ Cathy

[queenfluff]

hmm, are you sure they are raw? I didn't think any of the olives sold at Whole Foods were raw.

Anyhow, I have bought raw olives (black though) and put them in a jar with sea salt to brine them and they were fine. I never changed the water mixture. They got nice and briney and didn't change at all.

I am not sure about the green olives though - maybe the brining solution is different for those?

I keep mine in the frig. Make sure the brine solution covers the olives completely. Maybe shake the jar occasssionally to keep it mixed?

[kaybee]

yep im sure they were raw; they were labeled "fresh olives" in one of those plastic containers that WF packs themselves; as if something was shipped in bulk and then put into them. they werent packed in any liquiid, and were dry (not dried out, just not soggy/wet) to the touch. they are super bitter. im sure theyre raw.
i didnt know about putting it in the fridge; i stuck it in there. still turning brown though; ah well, i guess ill see if theyre edible in a couple weeks....if not then its only a couple bucks lost. too bad tho