How to Salt Olives

Prepare fresh olives. Both green and black olives can be salted in a brine solution of salt and water to preserve the olives and impart a salty taste. This method takes longer than salting olives with water but is the best method for ripe olives. Manzanillo (Spain), Mission (USA), and Kalamata (Greece) olives are the olives commonly used for salting in this way.

• Check the olives to make sure there are no damaged ones. Find and remove those with insect or bird bites. If the olives have been chemically treated, wash them well before salting.
• You can sort olives by size. A batch of salted olives will ripen evenly if all the olives are the same size.

Cut olives. In order for the brine to penetrate the fruit, you need to cut a line in the flesh. Cut a line along the length of the fruit with a sharp knife. Note: do not cut into the seeds.

Place the olives in a glass jar with a lid. Olives should be stored in jars with tight-fitting lids, and glass jars are the best option. Place the olives in the jar, leaving a 3 cm gap at the top.

Pour brine over the olives. Mix 3/4 cup of granulated salt in about 4 quarts of cold water. Pour the brine into the jar so that all the olives are covered. Seal the jar and store in a cool and dark place like a pantry or cellar.

Wait 1 week. During this time, the olives will begin to hydrate. Leave the jar in a place of storage so that the salt and water can seep into the fruit.

Drain the olives. After 1 week, let the olives drain and pour out all the brine (the brine is all bitter at this point). Put the olives back in the jar.

Soak the olives in a thicker brine. Mix 1 1/2 cups of granulated salt in 4 quarts of water. Pour this thick brine into the jar so that it covers all the olives. Close the jar.

Store olives in jars for 2 months. Keep the vial in a cool place and out of direct sunlight. After 2 months, test the olives to see if the bitterness is to your taste. If not, change the brine and soak for another month or two. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the taste of the olives.

Prepare ripe olives. Black olives, rich in oil, can be dried with salt. Manzanillo, mission, and kalamata olives are the types of olives commonly used for salting in this method. Make sure to use olives that are fully ripe and dark in color. Check the olives to make sure there are no damaged ones. Find and remove those with insect or bird bites. ^[3]

Wash olives. If the olives have been chemically treated, you should rinse the olives before salting, then let the olives dry completely.

Weigh olives. Use a small scale to know the exact weight of the olives. You need about 0.5 kg (1 1/2 cups) of granulated salt per kg of olives.

Prepare the salt bucket. You can use a wooden fruit crate that is about 15 cm deep and has two slots on each side. Line the entire surface of the box with burlap, including the sides, and then secure the top with nails or staples. Prepare another crate just like that.

• Or else, you can line the bucket with cheesecloth, old bed sheets, or a cloth towel, as long as the cloth can keep the salt in the bin to absorb the water that runs out.

Mix olives with salt. Mix 1 1/2 cups of granulated salt with 1 kg of olives in a large bowl. Mix well so that all the olives are in contact with the salt.

• Do not use iodized table salt as it will affect the taste of the olives. You need to use granulated salt or Kosher table salt.
• Do not use less salt as that is not enough to prevent mold growth.

Pour the mixture into the wooden crate. Pour the whole olives and salt into 1 bucket, then pour a layer of granulated salt on top. Cover the top with cheesecloth to keep insects out.

Leave the crate in a covered outdoor area. You can place the wooden crate on a tarp because the water from the olives can run off and contaminate the ground. Also, instead of placing the crate directly on the ground, you should put a few wooden boards on top to help air circulate better. ^[4]

Mix the olives well after 1 week. Pour the whole olives and salt into another clean bucket. Shake the barrel to mix the olives and salt, then gently pour back into the first barrel. This is to make sure all the olives are covered with salt and make it easier to spot damaged or rotten ones. Get rid of these because you can’t eat them.

• You should also discard olives with white round spots (possibly mushrooms). Mushrooms usually grow from the stalks of olives.
• Double check to make sure the olives are salted evenly. If an olive has both wrinkled and plump areas, you should reduce the amount of olives before re-salting; This will help plump up the wrinkled areas.

Repeat the above process once a week for a month. After a month, taste it to determine if the olives have tasted the way you want them to. If the olives are still slightly bitter, continue the drying process for another 2 weeks. It may take 4 to 6 weeks for the olives to ripen depending on the size of the fruit. When the salt is cooked, the olives will be slightly wrinkled and soft.

Filter the mixture. You can either pour the mixture into a mesh strainer to filter out the olives, or pick up individual olives directly from the barrel and shake gently to remove the salt.

Let the olives dry overnight. Spread the olives on a paper towel or cloth towel and let dry completely.

Olive preservation. Mix 0.5 kg of salt with 10 kg of olives, then pour into a glass jar and cover tightly for storage. You can keep olives in the refrigerator for several months.

• You can also mix olives with extra virgin olive oil and seasonings for extra flavor.

Use caution when using lye as it can cause burns. You should wear chemical resistant gloves and goggles when handling, and do not use plastic or metal olive containers (including lids, as lye can dissolve metals). ^[5]

• Do not use this method if young children are likely to get close to where the olives or solution are stored.
• Conduct olive salting in a well-ventilated room. Open the window and turn on the exhaust fan.

Wash the olives. This method is best suited for large olives like those from the Seville region (Italy). You can use green or ripe olives. Remove damaged olives and sort olives by size if desired.

Place the olives in an alkaline resistant container. Note, do not use metal barrels; Glass or ceramic containers are preferable instead.

Make an alkaline solution. Pour about 4 liters of water into the alkali resistant container, then add 30 ml of alkali to the water. At this point, the solution will immediately heat up. Let it cool to about 18-21 degrees Celsius before adding the olives.

• Note, the correct procedure is to add alkali to the water, do not do the opposite because it may cause an explosive reaction.
• Measure the exact amount of water and alkali needed. Too much alkali is not good for the olives and too little will cause the olives to not ripen.

Pour lye into the barrel of olives so that the fruit is completely submerged. Use a saucer to press down on the olives so that the olives are completely submerged in the solution and do not darken. Use cheesecloth to cover the top of the box.

Stir the mixture every 2 hours until the lye is absorbed into the seeds. For the first 8 hours, just stir and then cover. After 8 hours, check the olives to see if the lye has penetrated the seeds by: wearing alkali resistant gloves, take a few of the largest olives and cut a line in the flesh with a knife. If you cut into the seeds easily, and the flesh is soft and has an even yellowish green color, your olives are ready. If the flesh near the seeds is still pale green, soak the olives in lye for a few more hours and try again.

• Note, do not touch olives and lye with bare hands. If you don’t have chemical resistant gloves, you can scoop the olives with a spoon and let them sit under running water for a few minutes before cutting the olives to test.

Change lye if necessary. If the olives are too green, the lye may take more than 12 hours to penetrate the seeds. In this case, discard the lye and replace it with a new lye. After another 12 hours, change the lye again if it has not yet penetrated the seeds.

Soak olives in water for 2 days. Change the water at least 2 times a day. This process is for olive washing and alkali removal. Each time you change the water, you will see the color of the water fade.

Try olives on Wednesday. If the olives are sweet, fatty, not bitter, and don’t have a soapy smell, you can proceed to the next step. If the olives still have an alkaline taste, continue soaking until the olives no longer have a strong taste and the water is clear and colorless.