Pickling Olives
Home pickled olives are a delicious alternative to the commercial product. Black olives are olives that are ripe while the green olives are also ready to use.

To pickle the olives firstly separate the black olives from the green olives as the preparation time differs between the two types. Wash the olives and slit down the sides of the olives two to three times with a fine-edged knife—the slits allow for quicker pickling. An alternative to slitting the olives is to ‘crack’ them with a flat malle. You should use enough force to crack the flesh of the olive but leave the seed intact.

Place olives in a large glass jar and cover with cold water. Cover the surface of the water with a small plate to keep the olives fully submerged. Gently pour off and replace the cold water every day. Repeat this process for approximately three days for black olives and five days for green olives. On the last day pour the water into a container and measure the amount to determine how much brine you will need to use in the pickling process.

To make the brine, measure that amount of water and place in a saucepan on the cooktop on medium heat. To calculate the amount of coarse salt you need to add, place a raw egg in the water and dissolve enough salt in the water until the egg floats to the surface. When the egg exposes an area about the size of a 20 cent coin (2.5cm), the amount of salt is correct. This amount of salt roughly equates to 100g salt to one litre of water. Bring this brine to the boil and allow the brine to cool completely and then pour over the olives.

Cover the olives with about 1.5cm of olive oil and seal the jars. Store the jars in a cool dark place. The black olives should be ready in six to eight weeks and the green olives in two to three months. Test the olives by tasting every few weeks as they are ready to use when all the bitterness has disappeared.

To prepare the olives for serving, remove enough olives for a month’s use from the large jar and drain well. Place the olives into a smaller jar. Cover the olives with white cider vinegar. Place two cloves of garlic and a slice of lemon in the jar and float a little olive oil on the top. The olives are ready to eat in a week. Try using different vinegars to get different flavours in the olives.