Thyme-brined olive Calories

A thyme-brined olive is an olive cured or stored in salty brine flavored with thyme. The exact ingredients vary: some versions include extras such as lemon or oil, so the name alone does not specify every ingredient.

To make thyme-brined olives, first cure fresh olives to remove their natural bitterness, then keep them in brine flavored with thyme. Simply soaking uncured olives in thyme water will not make them ready to eat.

You can rinse thyme-brined olives if they taste too salty. A quick rinse removes some surface brine while retaining more of the thyme aroma; soaking them for longer can soften their flavor and texture.

Some thyme-brined olives are fermented, because traditional brining can let naturally occurring microbes ferment the olives as they cure. Methods vary, however, so thyme brine by itself does not prove that a particular olive was fermented.

Store thyme-brined olives in the refrigerator in a clean, covered container, keeping the olives submerged in brine. Use a clean utensil to serve them, rather than putting fingers or a used fork into the container.

Yes, thyme-brined olives work well in pasta, grain salads, stews, and baked dishes. Add them toward the end of cooking when you want their texture to remain firm, and account for their salty brine when seasoning.

Yes, thyme-brined olives can be frozen, but they may turn softer after thawing. Freeze them in a suitable sealed container and use the thawed olives in cooked dishes, sauces, or chopped fillings rather than relying on their original firm texture.

Yes, you can use a little thyme-brined olive brine to season dressings, sauces, or cooked dishes. It is salty, so reduce other added salt; do not use brine that is cloudy, foul-smelling, or visibly spoiled.

Discard thyme-brined olives if they develop fuzzy mold, an unpleasant smell, or an unexpectedly slimy or mushy texture. A few pale salt crystals can form on brined olives and do not, by themselves, mean the olives are spoiled.