How to Make Pickled Olives at Home

This is how to make pickled olives at home using a very old, traditional method. This is a brilliant time to spend some hours at home making all of the yummy things we can think of! We recently came across this recipe, and since we love olives and know Signora Rosa, who gave us the recipe, very well, we decided to give it a try. It is not difficult at all, but it can take a bit of time, so arm yourself with some patience!

You will need water, vinegar, herbs, spices and good jars (Italian “Quattro stagioni” jars or wide neck little demijohns are her favourites!). A lot of people just use a salt and water brine, but this method with vinegar makes a nice savoury treat too!

How to make pickled olives

• Get some raw green olives that show some signs of ripening, then wash and rinse them properly. Crack them with a fruit or vegetable press so that the water gets in and removes the bitterness.
• Cover them with water and white vinegar (the ratio is 2 cups of white vinegar to 2 L of water, so adjust your quantities accordingly!).
• The olives should stay in there for 3 to 7 days (depending on their size), with the mixture changed every 24 hours. Make sure they stay under the water level by using retaining discs with some weights.
• The olives will start losing their bright colour and turn into the colour we all know. Try one, and when the olives are not bitter anymore, it is time to brine!
• Drain them and wash the jars.
• Make a brine using 10g of salt for every 100ml of water, and add white vinegar in the same ratio as in the initial stage (or a bit less if you don’t want the vinegar flavour to be as strong). Mix well.
• Put the olives back in the jars and add the brine mix. Now it is time to add spices, herbs and seasoning to personal taste (Rosa makes different jars depending on the relative or friend who is going to eat the olives!). You can add lemon or lime, garlic, thyme, pepper, chilli and bay leaves.
• Cover the olives with some oil to protect them from air and oxidation, and close the jar properly. They should be ready to taste in 4 to 10 weeks.
• Some people don’t like the vinegar flavour too much. For them, open the olives when they are almost ready, wash them, replace the liquid with a brine made of water and salt, and put them back in a jar until ready.
• Keep the olives in a cool, dry place.

You can enjoy them in any way you like! Serve them on cured meat and cheese platters, chop them into your dishes or eat them as a sneaky snack straight out of the jar!