Dose any one out there process their own Olives in a brine solution?
I have about 35 lt of large Kalamarta Olives to process and have started the process by sorting the good from the bruised and damaged etc, washed/soaked then over night twice in clean water and now have them in a 10% brine solution. To check the brine solution I have calibrated my hydrometer at 2%,4%, 6%,8%, and 10% solutions so that I can easily check the brine solution over time.
The recipe I have says to thoroughly wash the olives and then place them in a 10% brine solution for about three months and when the ph reaches 4 the process is finished. There are a few intermediate ph readings that indicate the various phases the olives are progressing through.
I have a "screen" on top of the olives to make sure they are all below the brine (there is about 50mm of brine solution over the top of the hold down screen) and not exposed to the atmosphere. The vessel I have then in is a standard fermenter so they are exposed to light some what
Well they have been in solution for about 12 days now and the ph has dropped to around 5.1 but I am now seeing some mould growing on top of the brine solution.
This is not the first year I have tried to process my olives and previous years I have had to ditch them when the mould had grown excessively and effected the olives
Can any one give me any clues on how to stop/control the mould or advise on any mistakes I am making with my process
Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Wobbly
I have about 35 lt of large Kalamarta Olives to process and have started the process by sorting the good from the bruised and damaged etc, washed/soaked then over night twice in clean water and now have them in a 10% brine solution. To check the brine solution I have calibrated my hydrometer at 2%,4%, 6%,8%, and 10% solutions so that I can easily check the brine solution over time.
The recipe I have says to thoroughly wash the olives and then place them in a 10% brine solution for about three months and when the ph reaches 4 the process is finished. There are a few intermediate ph readings that indicate the various phases the olives are progressing through.
I have a "screen" on top of the olives to make sure they are all below the brine (there is about 50mm of brine solution over the top of the hold down screen) and not exposed to the atmosphere. The vessel I have then in is a standard fermenter so they are exposed to light some what
Well they have been in solution for about 12 days now and the ph has dropped to around 5.1 but I am now seeing some mould growing on top of the brine solution.
This is not the first year I have tried to process my olives and previous years I have had to ditch them when the mould had grown excessively and effected the olives
Can any one give me any clues on how to stop/control the mould or advise on any mistakes I am making with my process
Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Wobbly