How to marinate/preserve olives?

Question

My workplace has given me a bag FULL of fresh black olives, picked from the trees on the premises.

They are plump and full and I LOVE olives ... but I have no idea how to preserve them for the future.

There are far too many to eat immediately, and I know there is a method to preserve them with olive oil, spices and so on, but should the olives be cooked, soaked, what?

And once they are preserved, how long will they last before they must be eaten?

Any helpful ideas from someone with experience would be appreciated!

I'm hoping to do this soon so the olives don't go bad.

Answer 1

Put the olives gathered from the tree in olive oil. They will remain for any length of time as if just gathered from the tree.

Answer 2

i would try googling this.  good luck, i love olives 2!

Answer 3

missopinions's Answer is spot on.  I love olives.

I boil the water and stir in the salt while the water is very hot, making a saturated solution.  

To the vinegar you can add garlic, rosemary or chili depending on your taste.

Have fun experimenting.

Bon appetite!    ~~~~John~~~

Answer 4

DO NOT listen to the previous lady- they will rot in just olive oil. You have to preserve them first by brining them to leach out the poisonous chemicals in them. Do not try to eat them raw, you will get very sick. I have made olives many times. Basically you cut a slit vertically in each olive between the tips. Then you make a saltwater brine (it should be salty as the sea, just dissolve as much as you can in the water) And place the olives in this, weighed down with a plate. Do not use iodized salt- rock salt works best. Every day you have to stir the olives, pour out the liquid and fill it back up with water and salt, and do this for 12 days. They will start to soften. Try an olive after 12 days. It will still be bitter but just edible. Then you place them in jars, fill with vinegar and seal them. Then wait for 3 months and you can eat them as is, or place them in jars with olive oils and spices to soak in the flavour. Its a long process but well worth it. This year i'll be doing my olives in pure salt, by layering them with salt in a box. This cures them as well. Good luck!!!