Green olives in brine and aromatics is a classic preservation method using water, salt, and many fresh aromatics for genuine olives without lye or preservatives.
Preparing this preserve is really simple; you can use nice big olives bought at the store, or even smaller ones if you have your own trees. You just need to be patient and wait because it takes months for the olives to mature and lose a bit of their bitterness.
As you can see from the photo, mine aren’t store-bought but picked from my little tree. They are organic, untreated, and slightly imperfect. There are some larger olives and others smaller, but this isn’t a problem; just sort them, separate, and prepare two different jars.
At my house, every year without fail, when the time comes, I prepare this preserve.
Green olives are widely used in cooking, perfect to enjoy at the table as an appetizer or for preparing many recipes. They are so tasty and tempting that one leads to another.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 3 Minutes
- Portions: 2 jars
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn
Ingredients for Green Olives in Brine and Aromatics
- 4.4 lbs Green Olives
- 5 oz Fine Salt
- 2 sprigs Wild Fennel
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 6 Hot Peppers
- 1 Lemon
- to taste Water
Preparation for Green Olives in Brine and Aromatics
Wash the olives and then place them in a large container covered with water. Place something on top to keep them from floating, or they will oxidize and change color out of the water.
Leave them to soak for about 1-2 days, changing the water twice a day, morning and evening. This helps remove excess bitterness.
You can also skip this step and go straight to the brine.After those days, place the well-washed olives in clean, sterilized glass jars.
Prepare all the aromatics to be added to the jars with the olives, wash them and dry them well.
In a saucepan with a sufficient amount of water (about 2 cups), dissolve the salt on the stove for about 5 minutes, then let it cool.
For every 2.2 lbs of olives, about 2.5 oz of salt is needed, add 2.8 oz if the olives are very large.Place the olives in the jars alternating with the aromatics, add garlic pieces, lemon slices, whole hot peppers, and small sprigs of wild fennel (both fresh and dried with seeds).
Once the jars are filled, if there are many, divide the salted water evenly and pour it into the containers, add more plain water to cover the olives.
Cover the surface with fennel sprigs, insert a plastic press to prevent them from floating. Seal the jar tightly and store in a dark pantry for about 3-4 months.
After this time, if the olives aren’t too large, they are ready to enjoy. If they aren’t mature, let them rest a little longer.
A white coating with some small mold might form on the surface, just carefully remove it and discard any olives that were in contact.
Anna suggests…
The olives are ready when they lose their characteristic bitter taste (about 3-4 months), so they need to be tasted occasionally.
Before consumption, rinse the olives in warm water, drain them well, dry them, and use them in cooking.
If desired, you can also season them with oil and more fresh aromatics.
Olives in brine can be stored for over a year.
