Sweet olive preserve
Olive trees are found in regions all over Greece, but it is the Kalamata oil and table olives, grown in the Messinian Bay, that bear prominent quality and rank higher in international export demand.
Here’s a “sweet” way to enjoy the delicacy that is the Kalamata olive!
Ingredients
- 2,2 pounds of Kalamata olives
- 15 oz. sugar
- 8,4 fl. oz. water
- 4 tbsp. of pickling lime
- 2 basil leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
- Soak the olives in a bowl of water overnight.
- In a tub, dissolve the pickling lime in 135 fluid ounces and put the olives in for 2-3 hours.
- If they still have bitterness in taste let in for an hour more, otherwise remove from the tub.
- Rinse very well.
- In a pan, add water, sugar, basil leaves and the olives and boil for 45 minutes.
- Remove the basil leaves and add the lemon juice.
- Let cool and then put the preserve in airtight jars.
The preserves can be enjoyed on toast, cheese, on crepes, and many other food items. To open the flavor of the jam, consider drizzling a little bit of Kalmata Olive Oil!
