Food and Wine Talks to Chef Erin Kem about Uses for Leftover Olive Brine
Sonja Overhiser, cookbook author and food writer, and cofounder of the award-winning website A Couple Cooks, chatted with Chef Erin Kem about ways to use leftover brine besides dirty martinis.
Once you’ve finished a jar of olives, you might be tempted to pour the remaining liquid down the drain. But the brine — the combination of salt, water, and vinegar in which olives are packed — is a flavor powerhouse in and of itself. And while you might know it best as a key ingredient in a Dirty Martini, its potential goes far beyond the classic cocktail.
“Brine is a by-product of pickling and preserving that leaves you with a delicious and useful salty solution,” says Erin Kem, chef owner of Corridor and Nicole-Taylor’s Pasta in Indianapolis. “When a dish needs a salty, Mediterranean punch, olive brine is the ticket!”