Curing and Seasoning Olives (Turkey)

While I was living in Incirlik AB, Turkey there was Olive Tree around the Hodja Inn in the base. I will harvest and cure the olives. After one month I will seasoned.After you pick the olives is a really hard labor because you need to make an incision to each individual olive, rinse and put in water will salt.I filled 2 buckets (around 3 gallons each) with green olives. You need to make a incision with a knife to each one of them with 3 cuts. Can you imagine doing that to each individual one???

After one hour you fill tired and look at the bucket and you think- I will stop… It happened to me but I decide to continue until all of them were with an incision. It took me around 3 or hours.  For one week everyday they need to be rinse and added in new water with salt, and of course sterilize very well the container , because if one olive went bad you will lost all of them. The second week I change the water every 2 days, in the third and four week every 4 to 5 days. 

After that the olives were well rinse and I seasoned with fresh Limon juice, Turkish red pepper, black pepper, dry mint, dill, rosemary and olive oil. These has been the most delicious olives that I have ever ate and it was my own work and my opportunity to learn how to cure olives.

Know I am living in Ohio and some times I am craving Turkish food and missing all my adventures and great times over there.

I found a shop somewhat close to my house (Food for Less) where you can find Turkish Products and I bough some black olives that I rinse and seasoned with Limon juice, dry Turkish mint, Aleppo Pepper and olive oil. They are very very good!!!

Try Turkish olives- you do not will be disappoint- they are very delicious!!!