How to Cure Green Olives (Traditional Method)

Ingredients

• 2 kg green olives
• Lemon, cut into quarters — use one lemon (4 quarters) per medium glass jar
• Salt, to taste
• Water
• Green or red hot peppers, as desired
• Olive oil
• For more long-term preserving methods, here’s how to can fresh corn: How to Can Fresh Corn
• To make olive salad see: Olive & Pomegranate Salad

Method

1. Wash the olives, then gently crack each one to make a small slit — you can do this with a garlic crusher or a small flint stone.
2. Then soak the olives in potable water for three days, changing the water every day to remove the olives' bitterness.
3. Drain the olives and arrange them in glass jars for curing and storage — the olives should sit about 5 centimeters below the top of the jar.
4. Add the chopped hot pepper and the pieces of preserved lemon.
5. Cover the olives and everything in the jar with a solution made from one tablespoon of salt dissolved in one cup of water — salt to taste, and add more water if needed so the liquid stands about 4 centimeters above the olives.
6. Pour a little olive oil over the surface to preserve the olives and prevent spoilage.
7. Seal the jar tightly.
8. Wait two weeks before the cured green olives are ready to eat.
9. For more long-term food-preservation methods, here is how to preserve fresh corn: Canning Fresh Corn.
10. For an olive salad recipe, see: Olive and Pomegranate Salad.
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