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California Gardening

lye

16 years ago

So where do I find this stuff to process the Olives?

I've been to two major groceries and two major Drug Stores AND I've even talked to the pharmacists who told me to go to the groceries. Nada.

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Comments (20)

gobluedjm 9/18 CA
16 years ago
I'm assuming you looked in soap and drain cleaner sections?
That is about the only place I can think of.
I think Red Devil is one brand.
I bet you could find it on-line or maybe Lowes, Target, OSH.
caavonldy
16 years ago
What you are looking for is sodium hydroxide. One brand is Draino, it's granuals in a can. It should be sold in grocery stores or hardwear stors like ACE.
Donna
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If you've got that many frames to clean then it'd be worth doing. You mustva read somewhere about it because you listed all the right stuff to handle the job. -- WARNING: Several aspects of this procedure can be down right dangerous so extreme care/caution must be used. I got a 55 gal barrel and cut it in half (with welding/cutting torch) and left several 'dog ears' couple inches wide that I folded (beat) over with a hammer. These support a #3 galvanized wash tub. Sorry I don't have pictures of my set-up on my yahoo profile - I'll have to work an that - but it's certainly nothing elaborate. I fill my "fire pit" (i.e., one of the drum halves) with charcoal about a third to a half full and start the fire there. This fire keeps the water very hot throughout the cleaning process BUT it's not hot enough to boil the water to begin with. So I usually get two or three big stew pots of water heated to a boil on the kitchen stove to start with. [Carrying out this hot water is one of the first things to be careful about]. I usually fill the #3 metal wash tub about three-quarters full of hot water. To this water, slowly add the lye. In this much water [DON'T put the lye in first], I usually add 1-1/2 to two cans of lye. Lye is readily found in large grocery stores or Wal-Mart type stores next to the drain unclogging chemicals (like Drano, Liquid Plumber, etc.). Lye is typically in a metal or plastic 12-oz can. The new version of Red Devil lye (in the plastic can) has a colouring agent in it and will stain your frames so I try to get some other brand. The eye protection is good; the rubber gloves are good - bucket of fresh clean water handy/nearby might be a good idea. I use a toilet brush (new, of course) to do the scrubbing with - buy the cheapest you can find because you're going to toss it when finished anyway (what's left of it). You might also find an old flat-head screwdriver useful to clean the groove in the frame's bottom bar. The No.3 wash tub will hold about 10 or 12 brood-sized frames at a time. Just stack them in there and wait about five minutes before starting to scrub them clean. It won't hurt the wood for them to soak in there longer. When finished, cycle in the next batch of frames. I toss them out on the driveway (in the sun) and hose them off with fresh water. Actually, I've done it both ways - with and without a clean water rise and didn't see that it makes much of a difference (the bees are going to put a thin coating of wax over everything anyway). But it's probably better to rinse them off. How clean the frames get and how quickly, depends on how hot the water is and the strength of the lye. The weaker the water/lye mixture, the longer they'll need to soak (and conversely). With the water hot enough and the proper amount of lye, the frames will get incredibly clean with minimal scrubbing and in a pretty short period of time (15-20 min per batch). When you have a lot of frames to clean, it's worth the set-up time and preparation trouble. But if you only have five or ten frames to clean, then undoubtedly just scraping them clean by hand is the way to go. The No. 3 wash tub is also large enough to clean entire hive bodies (if you're so inclined).
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RE: Advice - Using Glycerin instead of lye?
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CA Kate z9
Original Author
16 years ago
Doesn't Draino have other stuff in it? I guess I'll have to go read labels.
calpat
16 years ago
If you haven't found it yet, try a feed/grain store.
socal23
16 years ago
You could probably obtain sodium hydroxide (NaOH) from a company that provides soap-making supplies. As an alternative to the caustic soda you could try brine-curing the olives.

Ryan
CA Kate z9
Original Author
16 years ago
In rereading my instructions they call for lye flakes.... not crystals. I'll try Fresno Ag tomorrow..... they have everything.
youreit
16 years ago
If you don't find it, Westelle, let me know. Father-in-law does the olive thing every year, and he uses lye, so I can find out where he gets it. :)

Brenda
youreit
16 years ago
Sorry, we had a communications breakdown here on the homestead. :D

FIL uses Red Devil lye, as was mentioned above. Below is a link to where you might find it if you're having troubles. :)

Brenda

Here is a link that might be useful: Where to buy
Heathen1
16 years ago
They don't sell lye over the counter any more. Try a soapmaking site... but since it is an ingredient in making Meth, you have to sign all sorts of papers proving you want to use it for 'good' reasons. Plus, shipping it is a problem, you will end up paying for it. I would NOT use draino!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Natural Supply
iris_9
16 years ago
This Fri (Sept 29th) at 9:30 AM the Fresno Master Gardeners are having a workshop on curing olives at the Garden of the Sun on Winery Ave. I'm sure they will have info about where you can get lye.
CA Kate z9
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks! Maybe I'll just show up and hope they have room.
iris_9
16 years ago
Sorry...that should be Sat Sept 29th...not Fri!
CA Kate z9
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the correction.... it makes more sense since they usually have these sorts of classes on Saturdays. I haven't woken up enough yet to get my day organized, but I think I would have tried to be at that class. Unfortunately we have a group of workmen coming tomorrow (Sat.) so I won't be able to go.

I picked a whole 5 lbs from my little tree and decided to process with salt instead. Actually, all the green ones are in one jar in a brine bath, the red ones are in a salt bath, and the black ones are in just water that has to be changed 3 times a day. I guess I'm experimenting to see what end-product we like.

Next year I'll try to buy the lye sooner.
traces_organic
15 years ago
I was having similar issues finding lye this year, as was my Uncle over the last couple of years. Yesterday, I discovered a local supplier of technical grade available in 50# bags...delivered with no hassles!!
Anyone still needing lye, should call Russel at Britz Chemicals...his cell# is(559)284-1570
I don't know if I got a special deal on it or not, but let's just say I saved a bunch!
CA Kate z9
Original Author
15 years ago
This year I bought a small can at Fresno Ag Hardware. I certainly don't need 50#! You must have a lot of raisins.
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
15 years ago
This was my first year for olives also. I purchased a jar of fancy olives for $11 bucks and it had garlic, peppers, red, green and bi-colored olives all together.

I decided that I was going to cure some, so I researched for hours! I opted out of lye and went for salt brine. They have been in brine now for about a month. I tasted one small one and it was delicious! I change the brine weekly.

My big question now is what should I do to the garlic, lemons, peppers, herbs, etc that I add for flavor to the final step. Like I need to kill any lurking bacteria on that stuff also! I have heard freezing them kills bacteria, so that might be a good option.

And good luck on your search for lye.
gardurnit
14 years ago
Many products used for cleaning drains or where not specifically shown to be pure soduium hydroxide will contain additional products.

In the case of drain cleaners addatives to cause foaming so as to distribute the sodium hydroxide include:

aluminum pieces. This creates hydrogen gas bubbles and helps to distribute the sodium hydroxide liquid. I believe every dry drain cleaner I've seen contains aluminum pieces.

New develpments , Jul 2009, are moving towards creating a foam to distribute the sodium hydroxide. This keeps it in contact with the plug more easily than if it were a liquid.

Please add SPECIFIC sites and names with upc codes if you find a pure product for any thread where someone is looking for a pure product. Thankfully it's often the case that a low quality product is taken from the same assembly line as the higher quality products. It's simply
eaiser to do this as the level of quality is not different and creating a 2nd or third assembly line makes no financial sense. I believe this is done for antibiotics used for fish and humans both come from the same assembly line and are simply packaged separately.
James McNulty
14 years ago
FROM ABOVE "My big question now is what should I do to the garlic, lemons, peppers, herbs, etc that I add for flavor to the final step. Like I need to kill any lurking bacteria on that stuff also! I have heard freezing them kills bacteria, so that might be a good option."
COMMENT:
You CANNOT add the above outside of a refrigerator. You cannot sterilize these items outside a commercial canning operation. Freezing will do NOTHING with respect to lowering the bacteria load that cause human illness. You cannot "home can" you final product either as there is no approved process. Yes, I know the Romans did it 2000 years ago but you can't do it today.
Hope this helps. I have been through the process. I hope you have an extra refrigerator.
Regards - Jim in So. Calif.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
14 years ago
As I recall from my youth we used lye in our hot dipping water for the prunes before sun drying the prunes. We also used burning sulfur in our Apricot houses before sun drying the apricots. Although the bigger farms were using gas fired dehydrators for their fruit we thought the sun dried fruit was better tasting, and had customers driving long distances for it. Al
nil13
14 years ago
With regards to home canning, couldn't you pressure can it?

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