Olives are delicious fruits that grow on olive trees or shrubs. Usually, this fruit is harvested in late summer and has a slightly bitter taste when it is fresh. Traditionally, olives are usually soaked in a brine, or soaked in a mixture of water and salt to remove the bitter taste. Once the olives are salted, you can eat them as a snack or use them as ingredients!
Ingredients
- Olives
- 22 ml salt
- 240 ml Water
Step
Method 1 of 3: Picking Olives
Step 1. Pick olives in late summer or early fall
Olives usually ripen in late summer or early fall. Ripe fruit is black or dark purple in color, oval in shape, and has a spongy texture on the outside. In general, freshly picked olives are green and will turn darker as they ripen.
- Dark purple olives are not too bitter and don't smell like green olives. Green olives are also denser than ripe olives.
- Ripe olives have a shorter shelf life than underripe olives.
- Olives may ripen at different times, depending on the variety, temperature, intensity of sunlight, and quality of irrigation.
- Overripe olives are very mushy and wrinkled. Discard any olives that look overripe.
Step 2. Remove the desired fruit from the bush or olive tree by hand
Look for low branches overgrown with olives. Put on garden gloves and pluck the olives you want from the tree. Place the fruit in a bucket or bag to move it.
You can also collect olives that fall to the ground under trees
Step 3. Hit the tree with a bat to harvest many olives at once
Spread a plastic tarp under an olive tree branch. After that, gently hit the branch full of olives with a club or long stick. The olives will fall off the branches and fall onto the tarp below. Collect all the olives that fall from the tree when you're done.
- Don't hit the branch too hard so it doesn't break.
- You should only use this method in late summer or early fall when most of the olives are ripe.
Method 2 of 3: Remove Olive Seeds
Step 1. Rinse the olives under cold water to remove the soil
Pour the extracted olives into a colander and rinse with water. Keep rinsing for 30 seconds to 1 minute to remove any dirt, dust, or pesticides that have stuck to the olives.
When you're done, set the olives aside to dry
Step 2. Use a cherry or olive seed remover to remove the seeds from the olives
Place the olives in the seed remover and press the handles to squeeze the seeds out of the olives. You can purchase a cherry or olive seed remover online or at some shopping centers and grocery stores.
- Seeds are one source of the bitter taste of olives.
- Keep in mind that the removal of the olive kernels is only optional. Just remember that unseeded olives take longer to salt.
- You cannot grow a shrub or olive tree from these seeds. So, it's best to remove the olive seeds after you're done harvesting them.
Step 3. Press the olives with a kitchen knife if you don't have a seed remover
If you don't have a seed remover, use a kitchen knife to remove the olives. Lay the knife on top of the olive and press down with your palms to remove the seeds.
Using a kitchen knife can crush olives so the results don't look as neat as using a seed remover
Method 3 of 3: Soaking Olives in Salt Water
Step 1. Put the olives in an airtight container
Put the olives in a container like a glass jar with a lid. Leave about 2.5 cm of space between the olives and the lid of the jar.
The container used must be airtight so that the salting process takes place properly
Step 2. Boil 240 ml of water for every 22 ml of salt
Buy and use pickle salt, canned salt, or another variety of salt. Boil enough water to fill the entire jar to the top. Fill a pot with water and salt and bring it to a boil. Let the solution simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- This solution acts as an olive salting liquid to remove the bitter taste.
- The component that makes olives bitter is oleuropein. The salt and water mixture helps remove these components so the olives are less bitter and easier to eat.
Step 3. Fill the container to the top with salt water
Pour the salt solution into the bowl while it's still hot and make sure all the olives are submerged. The hot salt water will make the container airtight and prevent the growth of bacteria on the olive container.
- If the brine is not enough to cover the whole olives, make more.
- You do not have to fill the container to the brim. Just make sure all the olives are completely submerged.
Step 4. Cover the container and place it in a dark place for one week
You can store olives in a dark, shady place, such as a garage or basement. This process can remove the bitter taste of the olives.
Make sure the lid of the container is tight and airtight
Step 5. Wait for one week, then taste the olives
After the olives have been soaked in brine for a week, taste them to check for bitterness. If you want a slightly bitter olive, you can end the process here. However, if you want to remove most of the bitterness from the olives, you'll need to add the brine and reseal the container for a week to reduce the bitterness again.
Repeat the salting process until the olive flavor is to your liking. This process can take up to 3 to 5 weeks
Step 6. Eat olives or refrigerate for 3 to 4 months
You can now eat olives, add them to your cooking, or save them to eat a little at a time. Let the olives remain submerged in the brine to make them last longer.
