Can You Really Ripen A Tasty Olive Without Salt, Fermentation, Water, Or Other Curing Methods?

I've always believed the answer was no.

I've even talked to a olive specialist at the University of California and several olive growers - they all say no, you need some type of curing to be able to have a nonbitter, palatable olive.

Anyone who thinks there's good reason to keep salt out of their diet, or feels the fermentation process is poisonous, then, as I do, would avoid olives. But is this you-must-cure-olives scenario really true?

But a few days back my new friend Thierry and I were chatting after a morning fruit run to the market in Chiang Mai.

He has some land he runs along permaculture lines in the south of France, and said for years he's been following a pretty simple method to allow olives to ripen on their own, without brine soaks, lye, fermentation, or any other curing method.

He talks about it in this video interview we shot today: [www.raw-food-health.net]

I have no experience in this area myself, and I'm curious - has anyone else attempted to do what Thierry is doing?

If so, I'd love to hear how it worked for you.

Silver Leaf sells olives that have been repeatedly watered after an initial soak in salt water. They might not be very salty.
[www.upayanaturals.com]
Will watch your video, I love olives.

I have gotten sundried "raw" olives before, but I can't remember the ingredients. They were salty, to me.

Oh SQUEE! You are adorable in your videos. What a doll.
Key hole garden coming up. Finally, something to do with all that compost in the bin .

I got some sundried olives from a raw company. I don't believe there was any added salt, brine, fermentation, watering, lye etc. They do have a bitterness, but its not excessive. My mother inlaw likes them, I was so surprised as she has such particular tastes. But it turns out she likes bitter olives, and says she has a hard time finding those.

i didn't watch the video so scuse my ignorance but i thought olives ripened naturally after they fall from the true and onto the ground
i really love the natural ripened olives
the bitterness is kind of nice for me too
kind o flike some people like garlic

I'm gonna try SeƱor Casasnovas's recipe when olives are next available; thanks for posting, Andrew.

You can get raw black olives Tam? The local Italian green grocer had boxes of them last month but they were all green ones.

I cure my own olives, might try this process as well next time I can get olives.

Coco, I can get fresh black olives where I live by the boxload. We have a lot of italians and greeks in this area and they love to cure their own olives. plus we have lots of houses that actually grow their own olives.

coco,

Yeah, they can get black ones for me at the local Italian import store, thought they typically stock green ones. One could prolly get them in Greektown or at Eastern Market, as well. I'll have to check periodically, because I am sketchy on when the season for purveying them is hereabouts.