BRINE-CURED GREEN OLIVES: LONG-TERM OLIVE PRESERVATION

Looking for a recipe for FIRM & CRUNCHY OLIVES, this video is for you! Here is our family recipe for curing olives, passed down from generation to generation. Using the simplicity of traditional techniques, easily preserve fresh olives at home. Taste the divine aroma of this oldest sacred fruit. Enjoy its rich nutrition and regenerative energy!

Full recipe for BRINE-CURED OLIVES:
Ingredients
3 kg fresh olives
2 L brine *
1 lemon
3-4 dry oak leaves
(*) For the Brine:
2 L water x 5**
3 tbsp pickling salt (~60 g) x 5**
(**) Note: Since the Brine will be changed throughout the curing process, 4 or 5 times more brine should be prepared.
Directions
Autumn is the time for harvesting olives
Olive is the most nutritious and oldest sacred fruit, a symbol of peace, and a staple of Mediterranean Cuisine
This video presents the Turkish Style long-term olive preservation and curing method. With this method, green olives are cured within a month, yet they remain firm and fresh for more than a year.
Pick green olives by hand to avoid bruising their skin. This is important to achieve firm and crunchy cured olives
Wash the olives and thoroughly, drain the water before placing them in the curing jar
Using a large, but narrow-rimmed jar for the process of eliminating the bitterness. The narrow rim slows down the browning of the olives
For long-term preservation, you must choose greener and firmer olives.
They are more bitter and require a longer curing process. Yet, they remain firm and tasty for up to 2 years!
For a short-term curing method, check out the video "Green Olives Curing Recipe"
THE BRINE
Prepare the Brine using 3 tbsp of pickling salt per liter of water.
Boil the water for 3-4 minutes, add the salt and stir until dissolved completely. (You can use drinking water at room temperature and salt as well.)
Then, let the Brine cool down to room temperature
Since we will change the Brine 4-5 times during the curing process, I recommend, preparing 2L x 5=10L of brine in advance with the same salt / water ratio.
BRINE CURING
Fill the olive jar with the Brine up to the hips.
Make sure the olives are completely submerged in the liquid.
Weight-down the olives in the jar with a stone or a smaller jar lid to prevent oxygen contamination. Otherwise the top olives that are exposed to air will be oxidized and turn brown.
Loosely close the lid and place the jar in a dark and cool place 6 days.

The First Brine Extract
Preserving the natural colour of green olives is an important aspect of Turkish curing processes. The bitterness that is extracted with the first brine acts like a preservative. Therefore, we will keep the first brine and use it later to prepare the final brine.
This practice helps keep the olives firm and green during long-term preservation

6 days later, drain the First Brine and store it in the fridge for later use.
Fill the olive jar with plain water and rest for 4 days
Slit or crack olive First Brine extract (on the left) is darker than whole olives (on the right). However, both extracts work the same for preservation.

REMOVING THE BITTERNESS
4 days later, drain the regular water and refill the jar with the Second (fresh) Brine.
Then, rest the jar for 4 days. Repeat the draining and refilling process, alternating regular water and brine every 4-5 days for 6-8 times, until the curing process is complete
Once the bitterness of the olives is gone, or their taste is to your liking, the curing is done.
NATURAL FLAVOUR AGENTS
Wash and slice a lemon, discard the seeds to avoid bitterness
Then, layer the lemon slices with pickling salt and keep them in a sealed container in the fridge until they are needed
LONG-TERM PRESERVATION
Once the olives reach their best flavour, drain their water, and soak them in the Final Brine.
I recommend storing the olives in small jars for the Final Brine. This prolongs the freshness and prevents browning as the contents of each jar can be consumed in a couple of days
Tightly fill the small jars with the cured olives
To prepare the Final Brine, take out the remaining First Brine we stored earlier, and distribute it evenly between the small jars.
Fill the rest of the jars with regular brine up to the hips.
Cover the top of the olives with a salted lemon slice and dry oak leaves to prevent browning and mold growth. This gives a wonderfully fresh and nutty aroma to the olives!
Cover the lids tightly and store the jars in a cool pantry.
After 1 week of resting in the brine, the cured olives are ready to serve!
SERVING
Enhance the taste of firm and meaty green olives by adding a drops of lemon juice and a generous amount of quality olive oil.
In Turkish Cuisine, cured olives are breakfast staples.
So, the olive is not a pickle; rather, it is a special cured fruit.
Thanks to the simplicity of this traditional method, fresh olives keep the original aroma and beautiful colour. So, you can enjoy their healthy flavour and savoury taste throughout the year!
Enjoy the fruit of God!