Place 1 pound rinsed olives in a one quart jar.
Fill a one pint jar with water. Add 1/2 Tablespoon of Lye to the water. Always add lye to water not water to the lye as there will be a chemical reaction and the jar will feel warm for a few minutes. Be careful with the lye do not get it on your skin or eyes, at this dilution it is safe but do avoid contact. When the lye water has cooled pour it over your olives and let stand for 12 hours.
Remove and rinse a couple of olives to check for penetration of the lye. Cut off an end. They should be an even color all the way to the pit, no white around it. They may take an additional 12 hours and sometimes longer to fully penetrate and remove all the bitterness. Don’t let them soak in the lye water too long or they will get mushy.
When you see the lye has penetrated to the pit and any color has gone out of the olives pour off the lye water carefully and fill the jar with fresh water. After 24 hours pour off the water and refill to soak an additional 24 hours. The water should be free of any pink color now so try a couple of olives to make sure there is none of the soapy taste of lye remaining.
Make a brine with 20 grams of sea salt to 3\4 of a pint of water, add 1/8 cup white wine vinegar and a slice of garlic clove. Let the flavors meld for a few days and they are ready to eat.
