Actually, the whole process is done to remove the bitterness from the olives. Lye-cured olives are the mildest tasting olives (at least in my opinion). This has been done for many many years and most commercial olives are given a lye treatment. (Many soft pretzels and bagels are too!) When you first soak the olives and only rinse them, yes, they can taste slightly soapy. That's why you need to soak them for several days, changing out the water several times daily. After several days, they no longer retain any of the lye or soapy flavor. Lye-cured olives are much milder in flavor than water or salt-cured olives. (Again, without curing them, olives are very, very bitter!) I actually prefer water-cured olives- as I like the olives to retain some of their bitterness, but my son prefers these. I usually make a variety of olives using different flavors and methods to keep everybody happy. (For water curing, you need to cut or smash the olives first, otherwise, the cure process would take several months.) I have another video that I'll publish now with the water curing method for those who prefer it. Lye curing allows you to quickly cure whole olives. I make soap quite often and have lots of people concerned about the lye. I wanted to show how lye is used in food processing often. While it's highly caustic, and you have to be especially careful when mixing the lye solution, it's not really poisonous in the sense most people assume it would be. (My post about lye: thethingswellmake.com/what-is-lye-can-i-make-soap-without-it/ )
@@NoeliaGenov It's not dangerous as long as you are careful in the first step when you mix the lye solution. It's best done outside or in a well-ventilated area and with gloves and safety glasses, just in case. After the olives are soaking in the lye solution, the rest of the process is pretty safe. Lye isn't poisonous, just highly caustic because of its high pH. It's actually used quite often in food processing, though. (Many breads and pretzels also use lye.) (Check out my other response for more information.) 😏
@@Thethingswellmake Okay I teach Chemistry at Undergraduate level in Indian College....... I subscribed your channel because of your amazing soap receipes...... In my practical classes I always use to tell students that they must be careful with lye because it is highly caustic although I had heard about maceration of certain edible products with lye haven't imagine it is used in curing of olives so this was a little bit surprising.... Thanks for sharing
this is a well done vid. thank you for taking the time, and the music nails it ;). i subscribed!
What is your ratio of salt to water for the brine?
Excellent thank you for your help 🌹🌹🌹
Won't lye solution make olives bitter from inside due to saponification of oil inside the tissues????
Yea thats what i thought too. This seems dangerous
Actually, the whole process is done to remove the bitterness from the olives. Lye-cured olives are the mildest tasting olives (at least in my opinion). This has been done for many many years and most commercial olives are given a lye treatment. (Many soft pretzels and bagels are too!) When you first soak the olives and only rinse them, yes, they can taste slightly soapy. That's why you need to soak them for several days, changing out the water several times daily. After several days, they no longer retain any of the lye or soapy flavor.
Lye-cured olives are much milder in flavor than water or salt-cured olives. (Again, without curing them, olives are very, very bitter!)
I actually prefer water-cured olives- as I like the olives to retain some of their bitterness, but my son prefers these. I usually make a variety of olives using different flavors and methods to keep everybody happy.
(For water curing, you need to cut or smash the olives first, otherwise, the cure process would take several months.) I have another video that I'll publish now with the water curing method for those who prefer it. Lye curing allows you to quickly cure whole olives.
I make soap quite often and have lots of people concerned about the lye. I wanted to show how lye is used in food processing often. While it's highly caustic, and you have to be especially careful when mixing the lye solution, it's not really poisonous in the sense most people assume it would be.
(My post about lye: thethingswellmake.com/what-is-lye-can-i-make-soap-without-it/ )
@@NoeliaGenov It's not dangerous as long as you are careful in the first step when you mix the lye solution. It's best done outside or in a well-ventilated area and with gloves and safety glasses, just in case.
After the olives are soaking in the lye solution, the rest of the process is pretty safe. Lye isn't poisonous, just highly caustic because of its high pH. It's actually used quite often in food processing, though. (Many breads and pretzels also use lye.)
(Check out my other response for more information.) 😏
The other video is now up: ua-cam.com/video/khO9wioVy4Y/v-deo.html
@@Thethingswellmake Okay I teach Chemistry at Undergraduate level in Indian College....... I subscribed your channel because of your amazing soap receipes...... In my practical classes I always use to tell students that they must be careful with lye because it is highly caustic although I had heard about maceration of certain edible products with lye haven't imagine it is used in curing of olives so this was a little bit surprising.... Thanks for sharing