Bottling Olives

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Curing Raw Olives is Simple.

Just follow these easy steps to make tasty, home-cured black olives. No harsh chemicals or preservatives are involved.

1. Get hold of some raw olives. They should be purple/black and blemish free. Do not worry if they're a little wrinkled though as the preserving process will plump them up again later.

1. Rinse your olives

1. Make a clean cut down the side of each olive.

1. Soak your prepared olives in clean water for 17 days changing the water daily

1. Prepare a 10% brine solution. For every 600ml of water add 50g of salt. Warm the mixture and stir till the salt has dissolved

1. Drain the olives and soak in the brine solution for 3 days stirring every now and again

1. Prepare a 2:1 water and vinegar mix. For every 2 litres of water add 1 litre of vinegar (distilled malt and cider vinegar will do but white wine vinegar is more traditional).

1. Drain the olives and soak in the water and vinegar mix for 3 days stirring every now and again.

1. Drain the olives and pack into sterilised jars.

1. Add a few woody herbs (thyme and rosemary are traditional) and/or some garlic cloves or chilli peppers to the jars.

1. Top up the jars with olive oil and seal.

1. Leave for four weeks before eating.

That's all there is to it! The olives will keep for up to a year and will taste fantastic. The oil will take on an even more concentrated olive taste plus the flavour of any herbs or spices you added to the jars and will be great on salads.

There is no need to use dangerous caustic soda to cure your olives like the commercial operations do. Keep it natural and very tasty curing your olives this way.

We have lots more information on basic food preserving and canning technique. Preserving and canning at home is a great way to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. You'll waste far less food, use up all your gluts of seasonal produce and impress your family and friends with all those tasty home-made treats.

You can find lots of preserves and canning recipes to use up your surplus produce too.

For ideas on sustainable living and self-sufficiency.

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