Black table olives

Table olives have been processed to make the fruit ready to eat. Black table olives are a broad shopping category: cultivar, processing and seasoning vary. Their color alone does not identify a particular cultivar or prove that every product follows the same curing method.

For our pizza di scarola, choose plain prepared black olives and remove the stones before weighing the filling amount. Taggiasca and other named olives have their own identities; the generic black-olive ingredient does not impose one of them.

Check pitted olives for remaining stones or fragments, then drain any packing liquid before weighing the 100 g needed for our filling. If you buy whole prepared olives, remove their stones first. Follow the recipe’s preparation order and mix the olives through the cooked escarole. Do not add the jar’s liquid to make up the ingredient weight.

Spread the olives through the escarole so the filling has an even balance of greens and savory pieces. Use the drained, cooked filling as directed before closing the bread dough. Its moisture matters to the assembled pizza; the packing liquid is not a substitute for a recipe ingredient.

Choose prepared black table olives with a simple seasoning suited to the filling. Check whether the pack contains whole fruit, pitted olives or slices, and compare the usable quantity. Chili, citrus, herbs or a strongly flavored marinade would add ingredients beyond this selection.

Before opening, follow the pack’s storage conditions and date. After opening, follow its refrigeration and use instructions and take out olives with a clean utensil. Keep the remaining olives in the storage medium and container required by that product. Do not dilute its brine, add homemade preservation liquid or apply one producer’s opened-pack duration to every olive preparation.