Capiteddu is just the lye or “cenerata forte” which was used to sweeten olives (hot water and ashes); sweetened olives with lye; today pickled olives.
Pickled green olives:
1. Choose sane and ripe green olives; plunge them in a large pot covered with salted water (2 kg. olives in 5 litres of water). Keep them in this solution until you need them. In 10 days olives lose their bitter taste. For months they keep solid. They’re not good anymore when soft.
2. To shortly have sweetened green olives mash and remove the stones; plunge them in salted water (1 kg of salt and 5 litres of water) for 48 hours; then rinse and drain them. Now you can use them.
