Green Olives

Each olive should be given a brisk tap with a wooden mallet—just forceful enough to split the skin without crushing the olive or breaking the pit. They are then put into a large basin of cold water and kept for ten days, the water being changed each day. This draws out their excessive bitterness. Rinsed well and well submerged in an herb-flavored brine, one may begin eating them two weeks later (any drained for serving and not consumed should be returned to the brine—they spoil in contact with the air).