Unlike the more common variety of olive that is cured in a brine, oil-cured olives are basically, dry-cured olives that get macerated in oil for several months.
The curing removes the bitterness and the resulting olive is shriveled and wrinkly and they sort of resemble small prunes. Because of this curing method, they dont need to be stored in any sort of brine. Depending on the variety of oil-cured olive, the oil may be flavored with various herbs and spices.
ohmy how i love these olives. last nite i bought a pound from whole foods to set out for a tapas platter & i have to confess i put a significant dent in the container on the way home.
the best place i know to get a sense of how deliciously and variously black olives can be used in cooking is the Moroccan-born, French-speaking cookbook author, Nadine Abensur... her writing is delightful, and, by the way, I strongly suggest that The Kitchen, AT, should hire her as an Aussie correspondent!
oops-- link didn't go through on the last post. click on my name for a link to nadine's site. i have her cookbooks on my bedside table... they're that good. lots of oily, black, moroccan olive recipes.... -p