Saturday 24 November 2012

Olives

Hmmm so I took my olives out of the shed today (I know, shed is not the best place for preserving) and washed them. They smell fine and taste OK. In the end I did two methods:
* Washed water method
* Brine cure method

A couple of comments. The washed water method worked fine but the olives are mushy and a bit crap. Taste fine but not so awesome.Might come out OK if I put them into a post brine pickle (vinegar and brine with some herbs?) never done a post cure.They had developed some mushrooms during the wash phase because I didnt change the water every day...so this method is not tollerant of my life style

The salt brined ones are better, crisp and nice. Good flavour and a little saltier. They had mushrooms growing on them when I took them out because I had a waterbag to hold them down which is a perfect place for mold to grow. Taste fine. No bad smells.

Anyway best description I have found is here:
http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8267.pdf

Bresciola

From a sausage making forum I posted too and need somewhere to store my photos
Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum and joined to ask some questions about...exactly this topic.

We recently did a bresciola cured with salt, pepper, curing salt and juniper (I think some oregano too but I dont have the recipe on hand). We fridge cured it in plastic bags for 10 days with a salt change half way through. We then removed, rinsed and fridge dried it for 3 days uncovered and then wrapped it in musslin cloth and let it air dry open in the fridge.

When removed the muslin had some what looked like blood stain and a fair bit of mold (green and white molds which I understand are penicillin and some other mold which isn't bad...we hope). The meat didnt smell much.

Being a bit concerned about the amount of mold I washed it in cold water with a scrubbing brush and then 2 lots of vinegar washes followed by another cold water rinse.

My question is, what can I do about the mold. We have had significant mold infestation in our hams too. They are cured in a mixed garage environment and fridge. I dont know the humidity but the temperature should be around 15C