How do you preserve fresh Olives?

Question

I have an Olive tree and want to preserve them really would like to know how to do this. Do you have to soak in brine, leave for days etc. etc.

Answer 1

I was a little curious on harvesting and preserving olives, so I did a little research. Many people said that harvesting your own was too much trouble, but I found a site that made it seem like a simple, albeit long, process. I hope this helps!

Gather up fruit and rinse in water.

Place Olives on a clean, hard surface and bruise the fruit with a rolling pin. Pricking them with a fork works well too. Bruising or pricking them helps the salt and water to penetrate the fruit.

Put them in a bucket of water with half a cup of cooking or coarse salt per 10 cups of water.

Place a lid (breadboard) on top of the bucket to help keep the Olives submerged.

Pour the water out each day and replace with fresh salted water.

Continue this for about 12 days for green olives, or 10 days for black olives.

To test the Olives, bite one.
When the bitterness has nearly gone the Olives need one more final salting.
Pour off the last of the salted water and measure it so you will know how much salt brine will be required. Measure out that same quantity of warm water into a pot and dissolve the salt at the ratio of - 1 cup salt to 10 cups water. Boil this and allow to cool.

Place 0lives in jars or bottles and then pour the salty brine over the fruit until covered.
Top the jars or bottles up with a centimetre of Olive Oil. This stops air getting in and seals the lids down.
The Olives will keep for up to 12 months in the cupboard.

Before eating, drain off the salty brine and fill the bottles with cool water.

Refrigerate for 24hours.
If after this time they are still too salty to taste fill the bottles with hot water and refrigerate again for 24 hours.

Once the correct salt level is reached you can add extra flavours like basil, capsicums, garlic and lemon juice.

Answer 2

Am glad to help you with that question. You ask about preserving them but I think you mean, pickling, that is the correct term. First you will need a brine solution. The solution should contain one half cup of noniodized (kosher) salt to each gallon (4.2 litres) of water.

To begin the brine processing, place your clean olives in cold water and change the water each day for 10 days. (I use large, plastic, covered buckets from a local restaurant supply.) Weight the olives down with a plate so they all stay submerged. No need to seal at this point.

This will start leaching the bitter glucosides out of the olives. At the end of the ten day period you can make a more permanent brine solution in which to continue the process. Add one cup of noniodized salt to each gallon of water. Use enough of this brine to cover the olives. Change this solution weekly for four weeks, transfer the olives to a weaker brine solution until you are ready to use them.

Just how long it will take for your olives to become edible I cannot say. Mine seem to take about two or three months to develop a rich, olivey flavour. The best piece of equipment you have for assessing when the olives are done is located between your nose and your chin. It doesn't cost much to maintain (outside of your regular dental checkups), so use it!

Store your olives in the weaker brine in a fairly cool, dark place and keep them covered. A scum may form on the top of the olives, but according to my mother's Italian neighbours, this simply adds to the flavour of the olives! (One of my Italian sources swears that this is the "culture which consumes the bitterness of the olives.") Toss out the scum and use any olives that look unspoiled. (A squishy olive is a spoiled olive.)

NOTE: In the complete absence of salt during the initial ten day rinsing period, dangerous bacteria can form and turn the fruit soft and rotten during the following weeks. If this happens, you will lose your entire production. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 3

There are a number of different options. Brine, as you suggested is perhaps the most traditional and even the best option. For that you can do it as simply as making a simple brine solution (1 cup brine to 1 gallon water) and add your olives.

A longer shelf life can be attained by canning them after this. Canning is tricky if you've never done it though, so make sure you read up on it thoroughly. Improper canning can be dangerous.

My personal favorite technique is by using olive oil, red peppers, onions. lemons, basil, garlic, oregano, and capers. (then you can them) Its really quite nice. Keeps for months and seems to get better with age.

Answer 4

Add water with a bit of acetic acid and salt into a jar with the olives, go crazy drop in a little red chilli ot two.

Answer 5

make a brine first then take the olives and put them in olive oil
thank you

Answer 6

Store them in olive oil

Answer 7

Pickle them in brine. That's waht you buy in the grocery store.

Answer 8

http://www.cookeryonline.com/olives/Olive%20Pickling.html

Answer 9

add a little water the them in a bowl or mason jar. cap them and refrigerate

Answer 10

in the fridge