How to make the best homemade olives

Bunches of green and black olives fill the stalls of the local market and the greengrocer. Buy the variety you prefer and make them at home with our instructions.

Green crushed olives

With a stone or a hammer, crush the olives carefully, so that they do not open too much and their pits rot. Transfer them to a container that closes and cover them with fresh cold water.

Leave them for 15-20 days, changing the water twice every day. Check if they have clarified, drain them and put them in brine.

Leave them for 24 hours and drain them. Transfer them to glass jars, placing between salted lemon slices, fennel seeds and, if you wish, 2-3 whole cloves of garlic.

Add the juice of one lemon for every kilo of olives. Fill the jars with olive oil, put a sprig of fennel on top and keep them in a dark place.

Variation: Instead of lemon, put slices of cleaned oranges and squeeze orange juice. Remove the garlic.

Green carved olives

Lightly carve each olive with a sharp knife in 2-3 parts, without reaching the pit. You follow the process of crushed olives.

Green giant olives

For each kilo of olives you will need 150g. coarse salt and the juice of five lemons. Put the whole olives in a container and cover them with water. Add the salt and juice and put a weight on top so that they are completely covered.

Cover the container tightly. Lave them like this for 2½ months. Then take out a few, transfer them to glass jars and cover them with olive oil. They are ready to eat.

Black vinegar olives

Cut them, leave them to become bitter for 12-15 days, changing the water daily. Drain them, sprinkle them with plenty of salt and let them stay for 12 to 15 hours.

Wash them with vinegar and water so they don't become too salty, drain them, immerse them in good quality vinegar and let them soak for 2-3 days.

Then drain them and transfer them to glass or clay containers with lids, along with bay leaves and oregano. Pour enough olive oil on top to cover them.

Variation: Black olives also go well with orange. Cut orange slices (with their peel), salt them and place 2-3 at the bottom of the jar. Put the olives on top, drizzle some orange juice and cover them with olive oil. Don't put any other flavoring in these olives.

Tip for the brine

Put a whole fresh egg in a container of water with a little salt. Then add a little bit of coarse salt. When the egg rises to the surface and looks the size of a 2 euro coin, the brine is ready for the olives. Calculate the salt as follows: For every kilo of olives, use 100g. coarse salt.

READ MORE: Homemade jams: Guide for preserving Greece’s favourite summer fruits.