How to prepare marinated olives at home

What a beautiful outing today! On my midday walk with my dear Fusta, I found a man collecting olives. He was an older man, and it turns out that for many years he had been responsible for taking care of a farm with 80 olive trees! I couldn't resist asking how we had to prepare them, so I leave you here his tips for making battered and seasoned olives, in brine, to enjoy in a few days.

- Aren't those olives still green?

- Not for what we want them for, they're great.

- Well, tell me please how I should do them.

...

Wash the olives and hit them or cut them lengthwise with a knife.

Leave them covered in warm water for 10-12 days, changing the water every day. Taste them, you must appreciate them sweet, you must see that they have lost their bitterness. If the notes are still bitter, keep them in water for up to 20 and 25 days if necessary, changing the water daily.

When you already notice that they have lost their bitterness, you wash them and put them in a boat or a tub.

Prepare the water for the brine. You have to count approximately a handful of salt per kilo of olives, but you can do the egg test: have a large jug filled with water and put a fresh egg. Add a few tablespoons of salt and carefully stir the inside, stop stirring and see if the egg floats or returns to the bottom. If it returns to the bottom, it lacks salt; apply more salt and repeat the operation until the egg floats, it will be the optimum point of salt for the brine. Remove the egg.

Pour the salted water into the boat, tub or boats in which you have put the olives, covering them. Leave the olives in the brine for 3 days ideally. Wash the olives and we are going to season them.

For the dressing: I recommend the thyme and orange peel, but there are those who put bay leaf, savory, rosemary, oregano, fennel, lemon, ñoras, onion, garlic (beaten), dried peppers, basil, carob leaves...

Arrange the tub or in the boats in which you are going to put the seasoned olives. Apply a layer of thyme and arrange a layer of olives; then add more seasoning (more thyme, pounded garlic, orange peel...) and apply another layer of olives... And so on until you reach the top of the pot. Introduce water with salt again until you reach the upper edge of the container (it can be in brine -floating point of the egg- or somewhat lowered in salt). Close the boats.

You already have your seasoned olives! Leave them for a few days so that they take on the flavor of the seasoning, and then you can enjoy them in salads or in a good snack.

Remember to use a wooden spoon! They say that if you use a steel one or others they soften or do not suit them.

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• To preserve your olives, the Luigi Bormioli jars may be convenient for you, they are ideal for all kinds of preserves (and many other things).
• The use of a wooden spoon for olives is more than well known. If you want to listen and use a wooden spoon to handle, pick or serve the olives, I recommend the Bérard olive spoon , which also has holes designed to remove the liquid.
• If you want an ideal dish to make your guests fall in love and serve good appetizers, with olives of course (it is clear that they can never be missing in a celebration, especially homemade ones), I encourage you to see the Le Creuset appetizer serving plate .

I hope that, like me, you are encouraged to prepare olives at home with your favorite flavors.

Plate for appetizers and sausages Le Creuset