Olives Olives Everywhere

Although growing up in a place like Alaska affords an individual an incredible amount of privileges that 48er's and many other people don't get to experience (hunting, fishing - real fishing I mean, hockey at 20 below, ice fog, road kills, northern lights, and so much more), at some point the average alaskan realizes that he/she is lacking in some areas of knowledge and experience, which the rest of the world considers average [however, the things we learn as Alaskans far outweigh the things we lack...there is my alaskan pride :) ]. I remember when I went to Puerto Rico and learned, to my youthful surprise, that coconuts do not grow like I see them in the store, but rather are covered by a thick green husk. I remember my first few days in Chicago and learning that I had no inherent knowledge of how to ride the transit system (which turned out to be very easy). And last year I remember learning that Olives, depite looking very tasty while still on the tree are, in fact, incredibly bitter. The first, and last, time I tried it I thought I had been poisened and immediately spit it out, though the aftertaste lingered for almost an hour. Ever since that time I have been inquestive as to how those little fruits go from being so terribly nasty to the delicious olives I have eaten so often here.

So, that is my elongated preface to saying that I finally learned how to pick, prepare, cure, and serve Middle Eastern olives (which differ greatly from the black olives you buy in America). First the boring scienctific explanation behind why olives are so bitter to begin with (I put this first so you can as easily skip over it...I know some of you cringe when I say the words "science" and "explanation" because you think it will go on forever...for which you have ample and legitimate reason for such an opinion). As it turns out Olives (speficially the juice) contain a strong akaline acid called glucocide which causes them to taste so bitter. In order to get rid of the bitter taste the natural pH of the olive juice has to be severely reduced or completely neutralized. Traditionally this has been done by cracking the olive skin and letting them soak in water until the nuetral pH of the water dilutes the acidic pH of the olive. Another method is to use a weak base to accelerate the neutralization process. The most accessible, common, and safe base is sodium chloride - NaCl (household salt) or potassium chloride - KCl (sea salt). After a period of time the glucocide is leached out/neutralized and the olive becomes pleasent for consumption...see that wasn't so bad :)

Anyway, back to the story. It is olive season in the Middle East and I was talking to a couple friends about olives. One of my friends owns an olive orchard and brought me a bottle of olives their family prepared. However, that didn't satisfy me cause I wanted to learn HOW to do it myself (also a trait very strong in most Alaskans). I was invited by another friend, who a owns a small garden with olive trees, to come and pick as many olives as I want. So this saturday I made the trip to East Amman (the poor district of Amman, and 2 hour bus ride) to meet with my friend and her family. We spent lots of time talking, eating, and drinking tea with way too much sugar (standard arab hospitality, which always seems above and beyond to me). They helped me pick about 3 gallons of olives, which was way too much but they insisted emphatically. They also gave me a bunch of fresh mint, rosemary, and maraweesh (I don't know the english name). Then taught me how they traditionally prepare and cure the olives. In return I taught them how to play cards (I was incredibly shocked to learn they didn't know how).

When I got home I rinsed and seperated the olives. Some are green (unripe) and some are black (ripe). The only difference is the curing time, as more ripe olives are softer and have less akaline acid. I have read a number of sites on the internet that describe different ways to prepare the olives, and have decided to make an experiment out of storehouse of olives I now have. Most of the methods are similar, but they use different concentrations of salt, curing times, and various flavor additives like lemon, vinegar, rosemary, basil, etc. Another method which I am going to try is to use Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), aka Lye, which is a moderately powerful base, that is supposed to take the curing time down from a month (using salt) to less than a week. Because of its caustic nature many people don't feel comfortable using corrosive chemicals that emit hydrogen gas. I, on the other hand, felt I had to try it (since I use to use NaOH to create adoloscent mischief I thought maybe I could put my powers to use for Good). Plus, it just so happened that I've got about 10 kg of NaOH sitting my laboratory at the University.

I will keep you updated on the process and results of the various tecniques and recipes. I am exctied, I feel like knowing how to cure my own olives is a vital part of my middle eastern identity...it's like being alaskan and not knowing anything about blueberries or cranberries or raspberries...shameful haha.