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How do I cure olives without using salt? Is oil the only option? Or salt free fermentation of some sort?

I found this one claiming to be unsalted but couldn't find any recipe/resource describing the process?

Dan B
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    Curing and fermentation are different processing method on food. What purpose do you want for olives? Extend the preserving time or transforming the flavor on olives? – Conifers Jul 31 '19 at 03:38
  • Just making them edible as I read you can't eat olives raw (without curing/preparing) I will be storing them in the freezer so preservation is less of a concern – Dan B Jul 31 '19 at 23:44

1 Answers1

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Short answer: Oven-dried olives are your only non-salted option.

Long answer:

Almost all olive cures involve some quantity of salt. Some olives are just brined; olives cured with lye are also brined; so-called "oil-cured olives" are actually heavily salted.

Your only non-salted option are "oven-dried olives", a Tuscan specialty ... but they won't taste like the olives you're used to. You might try them anyway. I'll warn you though -- they're better if you add a little salt.

FuzzyChef
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  • I just read [here](https://oliveology.co.uk/glossary/fresh-water-curing/) they use "fresh water curing" where they naturally ferment the olives completely salt free over 6-9 months- is this done by simply changing the water every single day? – Dan B Aug 01 '19 at 00:17
  • Beats me, I've never heard of that method before and I'm frankly a little dubious. – FuzzyChef Aug 01 '19 at 00:19
  • It says on their [page](https://oliveology.co.uk/product/unsalted-olives/) they took 4 years to develop that "close guarded" method, I can well imagine how dubious that sounds – Dan B Aug 01 '19 at 00:32