California Ripe Olives Three Ways

Candied California Ripe Olives

Preheat oven to 250°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pat olives very dry between paper towels. Place on baking sheet and bake for 2 hours. Turn oven off and leave olives in oven to dry for 6 hours. (There should be very little moisture left in the olive and they will be very small.) Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir together sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until mixture reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and quickly stir in olives. Scoop onto baking sheet but do not scrape excess sugar mixture from pan. Quickly separate with 2 forks. After a minute or when cool enough to handle, separate olives and drop into sugar, rolling to coat. Best served the same day, or store refrigerated in a single layer in sugar.

Smoked California Ripe Olives

Stovetop Method:

Soak the wood chips in water for 30 minutes prior to smoking. Line the bottom of an 8 quart stock pot with heavy duty aluminum foil. Drain the wood chips and place on top of the foil. Cover with a second piece of foil. Place a pasta insert or steamer insert in the pot. If you don’t have an insert, you can use a steamer rack, just prop it up with bunched up aluminum foil so that it is at least 3 inches above the wood chips. Cover the pot with a lid and place over high heat. After about 5 minutes on high heat, smoke should start to seep out from the pot. (If by this time the chips have not ignited, uncover the pot and help the chips along with a lighter or culinary blow torch.) Uncover the pot and add drained olives to the steamer rack or basket. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Use foil to wrap the top edge of the pot where it meets the lid to keep the smoke from escaping. Smoke for 25 to 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Use in any recipes calling for olives for a smoky flavor.

Smoking Infuser Method:

Put drained olives into a 2 quart mixing bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Insert nozzle of smoking infuser under the plastic wrap. Fill smoking gun chamber with a small pinch of fine wood chips, light and run until the bowl is filled with smoke. Let the olives sit in the smoke for 45 minutes, replenishing the smoke every 5 or 10 minutes as needed.

Herbed California Ripe Olives

Preheat oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drain olives well and pat very dry between paper towels. Place on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to olives and toss well to coat as evenly as possible; bake for 10 minutes more. Let cool before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.