Olive Preservation

these are the smallest ones

A friend had an over abundance of olives on their trees this season and I was kind enough to take as many as they wanted to give. I tested out some different ways to preserve the olives & this is what worked best. I am not sure what variety theses are but they are very peppery and have medium sized pits. Adjust times for the brine based on the size of the olives.

Rinse all the olives and discard any leaves & stems. One at a time cut an x to the tip of the pit into the stem hole of each olive and place in a container large enough to hold all the olives or at least 10 lbs worth. Discard any olives that are mushy, blemished or damaged. Cover with cold water and place a lid on container. Store container in a cool dark place and change the water once a day for 14 days. After 14 days taste an olive. If too bitter continue to soak in cold water, changing each day until they breach an acceptable taste. This can take up to another month. Once olives are too your liking they are ready to brine.

Follow standard cold pack instructions. The brine amount below will fill 8-10 24 oz mason jars depending on the size of the olives. Cover the olives in the boiling brine and fill jars slightly lower than normal. Top each jar with olive oil to bring it up to the required height before sealing. Once sealed let olives sit 2 weeks before opening. Sort the olives in the containers by size to aid in the evenness of brining and open the smaller ones before the larger.

Olive Brine

• 1 cup sea salt
• 10 cups water
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 lemon juiced with halves
• 3 cloves garlic per jar

Add all ingredients but garlic in a large pot and bring to a boil. Pour over packed olive jars adding garlic to each one. Top with olive oil and seal. Refrigerate any jars that do not ping.