When we moved to the farm, we inherited a large number of fruit trees: pear, fig, olive, orange, lemon, cling peach and a massive wild plum orchid that was, and still is, completely overgrown and not bearing fruit. In the early days, I conjured images of large pots happy bubbling away on the stove and me lovingly filling jars with fruit and sweet, sticky goodness. I soon learned though that keeping fruit trees are a HUGE undertaking that requires attention and dedication – and knowledge – none of which I had. Except for olives. Olives love doing their own thing, and so far, it’s the only crop we have that appears to have no appeal for fruit flies and their friends.
I missed the olive harvest last year because of a pre-occupation with my new baby. But this year, I am back in the olive preservation saddle and have produced a total of 7 jars. Shocking, considering I usually have at least 6 times that, but sadly even the olives felt the drought and the fruits were minimal. None the less, I am sure they’re going to be delicious!
This recipe is one of my own doing, but it’s ultimately a combination of tips from the local women in my community who have been doing this for years.
How to preserve your own olives with rosemary and garlic
Ingredients:
- Fresh olives, harvested when they’re plump but still young
- 1kg coarse sea salt
- Salt water solution (390g of salt to 4.5 liters of water)
- Garlic cloves
- Rosemary
- Vegetable oil (you can use olive, but canola or sunflower oil works as well)
- Selection of glass jar with tight-closing lids
Method
Step 1:
Put the harvested olives in a large container with a lid, and soak it for 2 weeks, changing the water daily.
Step 2:
Next, give each olive a cut along one side, up to the stone. This will allow the bitterness to be drawn out of the flesh. Then carry on soaking for another 2 weeks, but this time add a handful of coarse sea salt to the water each time you change it.
A NOTE ON BOTTLING: to ensure your preserves stay preserved, is to make sure that the jars are sterilized. You can bake them in the oven at 140°C for 20 minutes, boil them in a large pot for 10 minutes, or just put them through an otherwise empty dishwasher on the setting with the highest temperature.
Step 3:
You are ready to bottle! Sterilize the jars and fill each one with the rinsed olives, a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary, leaving about 1 cm free at the top.
Step 4:
Pour the salt water solution over the olives, still keeping that 1cm free at the top.
Step 5:
Fill the jar to the top with vegetable oil. The oil will prevent air from getting in and spoiling all your hard work.
Step 6:
Screw the lids on tightly and leave for another minimum 2 weeks. Using this method, I have been able to preserve olives for up to 12 months.
While it does take a bit of time, it is seriously worth the wait. Enjoy!
Happy preserving!
One Response
Hello Germarie,
Lovely picture up here 🙂
Awesome tips for preserving the olives for over a year.
Means I can enjoy them through out the year.
Thanks for the share.
Shantanu.