Spanish Olives

[sweetgoddess]

Spanish olives are picked young, soaked in lye, and then fermented in brine for 6 to 12 months

I am just amazed by this statement.
( from http://www.n101.com/Static/HNs/Food_Guide/Olives.htm )
Who knew? Gross. :eek:

[RawTruth]

Well, gotta preserve those early-aging SAD bodies somehow, no? If not by healthy eating, then by pickling! :D

[dragonfist70]

i found some good raw black olives. i think most olives are raw which is great because i love the spanish ones best :D

[RawTruth]

i think most olives are raw which is great because i love the spanish ones best :DI'm a little confused by your statement, dragonfist70 since sweetgoddess just showed that Spanish olives are pickled in LYE which is a poison. I know you've discussed black olives here before, but maybe you've missed some of the discussions where it's been stated that most olives are not raw. You have to be very careful and thorough in finding out which ones are raw (I've only found them online and at a farmers' market) even though the ones in open bins at Whole Foods and Wild Oats may "seem" to be raw. Olives have to be cured or pickled by being soaked in a liquid solution which is often boiling when it's poured over them -- thus, not raw. Also, you want to find out what they're preserved with. Truly raw ones can be had which are preserved only with Celtic sea salt.

Here's a discussion about olives:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4962&highlight=olives

Good luck finding this yummy treat.

[dragonfist70]

ohhh eeek learnt something new there. well my ones are just soaked in brine or some others i get sometimes are ferrous gluconate which is just iron. which i have just got back from the shops and brought.

[sweetgoddess]

you will not see the word LYE listed in the ingredients list on the jar of olives, believe me. I have read every jar and can of olives in every store I have been in. There are a lot of loopholes regarding how things are labelled and what has to be listed!

[Sharon in Colorado]

I have to wonder if the little black shriveled ones have been cured in lye or cooked. They are in the bulk section at Whole Foods, with all kinds of nice provencial herbs and salt. I've asked before but they seem to have no idea.

[sweetgoddess]

This was the only thing I recall mentioning wrinkled olives Sharon, but who knows!

"Dry-cured olives have been packed in salt, which removes most of their moisture and creates intensely flavored, dry, wrinkled fruit. These olives are sometimes rubbed with olive oil or packed with herbs."