Why do olives have so much salt

This method is possibly the most common, and is heavily used for green and kalamata olives. After a while it was discovered that a small amount of lye also works to remove and break down oleuropein. That being said, most olives are cured with salt or a brine solution and left to ferment. Green and kalamata olives are always treated this way, while black olives are often treated with lye.

Okay, not what can you do about those salty, salty olives? The best method is to let them sit in cold, fresh water for a few hours. Keep in mind that this also reduces bitterness and sourness in olives, so it effectively removes a portion of the flavor. A handful of salty olives now and then will not cause harm, but continuously eating jars of salty olives day in and day out can lead to high blood pressure.

You can always remove it with that cold water soak we talked about earlier. All that being said, eating salty olives every now and then is about as dangerous as eating any salty snack. So if you drain and wash an entire jar of olives, then only eat a few of them, they will go bad very quickly.

Black olives tend to be less bitter than green olives. Olives can be cured using brine, dry salt or water, and this in turn can then impact their flavour. Sometimes olives are lye-cured, a process whereby raw olives are soaked in an alkaline lye solution, but this can affect their flavour. Olives vary in taste and size depending on their variety, region, and marinade or stuffing. You may find olives labelled from their country such as Spanish or Greek olives, or but you may be more familiar with their specific variety name such as Kalamata, Liguria, Alfonso, Manzanilla or Nocellara.

One olive weighs about 4g, and an average serving may be about 15gg or about 5 olives which is around 30 calories. They are low in carbohydrates with around 1. They are a low-fibre food and also a low-protein food with negligible amounts in a 20g serving around 0. Olives are typically high in salt due the fact that they are cured or packaged in brine or salt water, containing about 0.

The NHS recommends no more than 6g salt for adults, and between 2g-5g a day for children depending on their age. Nutritionally, olives are a good source of a few micronutrients including vitamin E, iron, copper and calcium. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect our cells from oxidative damage, and there is evidence that this vitamin may play a role in obesity.

Iron is needed by our red blood cells to move oxygen around the body, and copper plays an important role in heart health, reducing the risk of heart disease. Olives are also high in phytonutrients which each carry their own health benefits, including oleuropein which has has been linked to a reduced cancer risk but also gives olive their bitter taste, tyrosol which may have anti-inflammatory benefits and oleonalic acid for its heart health benefits.

The curing process does remove some of the phytonutrient content of olives, but brine-cured olives are fermented and there is growing research into their positive probiotic actions as a result, which in turn supports good digestive health.

Olives are quite versatile and can either be consumed as snack, added to salads or cooking. Always read the label when buying olives, just to make sure there are no added extras such as sugar or artificial flavourings, for example. Also the addition of a lot of salt can mask the taste of a lot of acid or vinegar in the brine.

Strong flavoured olives may taste better with more salt, and conversely light flavoured olives may taste better with less salt. All a matter of perception So, rather than throw too salty olives out what a waste!

You will not have to reduce the salt in Telegraph Hill olives! But if you have some too salty olives you can easily reduce the salt level to get them just how you like them.

Simply pour out the original brine down the sink, and replace with a new solution made from.