How to Cure and Brine Olives at Home

Curing olives is an ancient process that turns the naturally bitter fruit into a deliciously salty and tart snack. Choose the curing method that works best for your type of olive and taste preferences, then follow the step-by-step guide below. Curing olives takes a long time, but doing it yourself allows you to make olives catered to your exact taste.

Curing Your Own Olives

Wash olives thoroughly and smash them lightly with a mallet.
Place the olives in a food-grade plastic bin.
Cover the olives with cold water.
Change the water twice daily for up to two weeks.
Brine the olives in a 1:10 mixture of salt and water.
Let them soak in brine for at least one month before taste-testing.
Store the olives in an air-tight container filled with a water-and-vinegar brine.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Cure & Brine Olives with Water and Salt

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1
Choose the best cure for your olives. The two most beginner-friendly options for curing olives are water curing (followed by a pickling brine) and brine curing (which uses saltwater rather than simple water). Both of these methods follow a similar process and can be used with most types of olives, including green, purple, and black. The brine curing method is simpler, but it also may take the olives longer to cure, and they may have a more astringent taste.^{[1]
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- Water curing is best for most standard olives, including raw green olives that haven’t ripened yet. However, water curing can be a more involved process as you need to change the water daily and brine after curing—which is why some people opt for brine curing. Manzanillo, mission, and kalamatas all work well with water curing.
- Brine curing is best for green olives that are mature but still uncolored, although it can also be used for darker olives. Brine curing is a more straightforward process than doing a water cure followed by a brine, but the taste may not be as pleasant.
- More advanced methods, like dry salting and lye curing, may be necessary for larger fruits like Seville olives.
- Olives contain a bitter compound called oleuropein, which is what gives them their bitter taste and makes them inedible when first harvested from a tree. Curing the olives in water removes their bitter taste and adds a juicy, firm texture and a nutty flavor.
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Select unbruised and pest-free olives. Select olives that haven’t been damaged or infested by any pests, such as the larvae fly. Make sure that they are as unbruised as possible. Look for holes left by insects or birds. If you’re harvesting your olives from a tree, avoid taking too much stem away with the fruit and place the olives gently into your picking container to avoid bruising them.^{[2]
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- Olives can be picked when green or a little later when they ripen more and turn purple. It’s up to your personal preference on what type of olives you like to eat!
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3
Cleanse your olives and lightly smash them. Wash your olives thoroughly once you’ve selected the ones you want to cure. In order for the water to be able to reach the insides of the olives, you'll need to break or slit the olives to let the moisture in.^{[3]
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Research source} You can do this with a wooden mallet or, more commonly, a rolling pin. Give the olives a light smack, keeping them as intact as possible.
- You want the flesh to tear but don't completely mash it or rip it into several different pieces. You should also take care not to damage the pit.
- If you're concerned about the appearance of the olives, you can slit them with a knife instead. Take a sharp paring knife and make three slits in the olives to allow the water to penetrate.
4
Place the olives in a plastic bin and cover with cold water. Use a food-grade plastic bin with a lid. If you’ve decided on a water-cure method, completely cover all of the olives with cold water, making sure none are poking out. Place the bin's cover loosely over the olives and put the container in a cool, dark place.^{[4]
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- Make sure you use a food-grade container that won't leach chemicals into the brine. A glass container also works well, but you'll need to make sure it isn't exposed to sunlight.
- If you’ve decided on a brine-cure method instead, submerge the olives in a mixture of 1 part salt to 10 parts water.
5
Change out the water twice daily for 1 week. Ideally twice a day (but at least once), drain the water and replace it with fresh, cold water. To change the water, strain the olives through a colander, wash the pot, replace the olives, and fill it back up with cold water.^{[5]
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- When you drain the water, you’ll see a foamy, slimy texture released by the olives—make sure to rinse this substance completely off of the olives before refilling with fresh water.
- If you’re following the brine-cure method, you only need to change the brine once per week and shake the container once per day.
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Taste test the olive after 1 week. After one week of changing the water daily, taste an olive to see if the bitterness is at a level you like. If it is, the olives are ready; if you want the olives to be less bitter, wait a few more days or up to a week (changing the water daily) before moving on to the next step.^{[6]
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- For the brine-cured method, expect your olives to sit for about 3-6 weeks before being ready to eat.
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Soak the olives in brine for one month, if they haven’t been brined yet. If you’ve cured your olives in water, then they must be brined separately—if you did a brine-cure, you can skip this step. Once the olives have been water-cured, drain them, rinse them, and place them in a large food-safe container. Mix together a combination of 1 part salt to 10 parts water and pour the mixture over the olives—using preferably non-iodized rock or sea salt.^{[7]
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Research source} There should be a 3:1 ratio of olives to brine—i.e. if you have a full bucket of olives, you’ll need about a third of a bucket of brine.
- Place a plate over the olives to weigh them down and let them sit for one week in a cool and dark spot.
- Drain the olives and repeat this process, letting them sit for an additional week. Repeat this two more times so that the olives are brining for a month in total.
- If you’re struggling to dissolve your salt in water, add the salt to a separate container and boil approximately ¼ of the water that you need. Pour that water over the salt and stir to dissolve, then add the remaining cold water to get a lukewarm brine.
- Some people argue that you should leave olives to brine for at least three months (or even up to a year!). Taste your olives at each month-mark—if they’re still hard, leave them for an additional month or two.
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Make a flavored finishing brine to store the olives in. The solution that olives will be stored in is typically a solution of pickling salt, water, and vinegar. This finishing brine will both preserve the olives and give them a delicious pickled taste. You can also add herbs and spices like crushed chilies, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and more. Let these olives sit in their new brine for a few weeks to get a fully-infused flavor.
- To make a standard finishing brine for 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of olives, combine 1 gallon (3.8 L) cool water, 1.5 cups (450g) pickling salt, and 2 cups (470 mL) white wine vinegar.^{[8]
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- For Sicilian-style olives, add vinegar and dill pickle spices to a brine with green-ripe olives (traditionally Sevillanos).
- For Mediterranean-style olives, mix Italian herbs, garlic, and lemon rinds into the brine.
- For Kalamata-style olives, replace the white wine vinegar in the brine with red wine vinegar.
- This is also the stage at which you’d add fillings to your olives if desired. Pit your olives and insert pimentos, anchovies, blue cheese, almonds, garlic, or whatever you like!
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Store the olives in air-tight containers filled with brine for up to 1 year. Drain the olives and place them into an air-tight storage container with 1 inch (25 mm) of space left at the top. Pour the finishing brine into the container to completely cover the olives. Place the lid on the container and store the olives in the refrigerator. The olives will keep in their brine for up to a year in the refrigerator.^{[9]
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- For longer storage, you can also preserve cured olives by placing them in concentrated brine. Combine 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg) pickling salt with every gallon of water, then cover the olives and let stand for two days. Add an additional 1 cup (10 oz) of pickling salt for each gallon of brine used, and repeat after another two days. Cover the container tightly and eat within 8-9 months.
- Olives can also be frozen or dehydrated for longer preservation. To freeze olives, pack them into a freezer-safe glass jar (without brine) and keep them for up to one year.
- To dehydrate olives, set your dehydrator to 135 °F (57 °C) and arrange olives in a single layer. Let them dehydrate for about 8 hours.^{[10]
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Section 2 of 3:

Alternative Methods: Dry Salting & Lye Curing

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1
Dry Salting Dry salting is a lesser-known method that works great for smaller olives, like kalamatas. Clean your olives with a quick wash, then drain them. Then, take a clean jar and add a 1 inch (25 mm) layer of high-quality, non-iodized salt. Then, add an equal layer of olives. Repeat this layering until the jar is full.^{[11]
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- The layers will merge together as the salt trickles down, but as long as everything is packed tightly into the jar, that’s okay.
- Shake and turn your olives every other day. Eventually, the olives should start exuding liquid, leading to a wet and slushy texture inside the jar.
- Continue this process for about three weeks, then taste your olives. If they taste good to you (typically a bit salty, shrunken, and slightly sweet), remove them from the salt.
- Eat your dry salted olives as they are, or store them in a jar of herbs and oil.
2
Lye Curing Wear chemical-resistant gloves and safety glasses before beginning the lye treatment, which works best with large olives. Wash the olives and place them in a lye-resistant container—usually glass or ceramic, not metal. Combine 1 gallon (3.8 L) water and 2 fluid ounces (59 mL) food-grade lye—adding lye to the water, NOT the water to the lye. As the lye dissolves into the water, the chemical reaction will naturally increase the mixture’s temperature. Let the mixture cool to 65 to 70 °F (18 to 21 °C) before proceeding.^{[12]
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- Cover the olives completely with the lye solution. Place a plate over the olives to weigh them down. Cover the entire container with cheesecloth.
- Stir the mixture every two hours for the first eight hours. After eight hours, use chemical-resistant gloves to pick out the largest olives for testing. If they’re easy to cut to the pit with soft, yellowish-green flesh all the way through, they’re ready.
- If the flesh is still pale at the center, submerge them and try again in a few hours. If they’re not ready after 12 hours of soaking, drain the olives and cover them with a fresh lye solution.
- Once the olives are done, soak them in water for two days, changing the water at least twice a day. Taste test the olives on the first day. If they no longer taste of soapy lye, place them in a glass storage container with a light brine and let them sit for a week before eating.

Section 3 of 3:

Cured Olive Snack & Recipe Ideas

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Use your olives in various recipes or as a simple, anytime snack. Cured olives are a delicious snack straight out of the jar, but you can also zhuzh them up or use them in recipes! For a quick recipe to eat your olives, heat a little oil in a pan, throw in some garlic and spices, and gently fry the olives for a few minutes before serving them warm.
- You can also make a delicious roasted olives appetizer by pouring out olives onto a baking tray in a single layer and adding lemon slices, whole garlic cloves, and rosemary. Drizzle the olives with a bit of olive oil and mix everything together. Place it in an oven set to 220 °C (428 °F) for about 15 minutes, stir, then place back in the oven for an additional 20-30 minutes.
- Alternatively, you can add your cured olives into recipes for focaccia, homemade pizza, Greek salads, pasta, tapenades, and more! You can even make your own olive oil or olive juice.

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Question

How are the olives stored or prepared for eating? What if they end up being too salty?

Community Answer

At least one day before consuming, rinse the olives out of the brine. If they are too salty, soak them in fresh water overnight, then marinate them in olive oil and whatever spices and herbs you prefer. For long term storage, put your olives in a glass jar, add herbs and spices, then add one third fresh brine (saturated solution), one third white vinegar and a third olive oil. Put on the lid and store somewhere dark and cool for at least a few months to develop a good flavour. The olives should last for years when preserved properly.

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What is the best way to store harvested olives until I have enough to cure a batch?

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Store them covered with fresh water, changing it daily if possible. This will also help leach the tannins from the olives.

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I have purchased black olives produced and packed in Spain. Is there any risk related with health? The black olives have an ingredient containing ferrous gluconate as a color stabilizer.

Damir Steber

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That is a difficult question as it is probably impossible to know just how much of the substance is in your jar. Ferrous gluconate is a source of iron, often prescribed to treat iron deficiency anemia (not enough iron in the body to make oxygen-carrying hemoglobin). As such an adult can be prescribed up to 1 gram a day, and it's hard to believe they would be adding much more iron then that. As with all such things, try one! I'm sure many others have already. If you don't have a problem have a few more. Enjoy. There are many sights that will tell you of side effects and things to look for.

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Tips

If olives become moldy, soft, or malodorous at any point, do not eat them or even taste them. Dispose of them immediately and disinfect any containers that you plan to reuse.

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If you notice foaming during lye curing, your olives may have excess oil. Drain the olives and place them in a new lye solution.

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If blisters or gas pockets form on your olives during a lye treatment, your lye may be too strong or be contaminated by bacteria. Prevent this by testing different lye strengths with smaller samples of olives or by changing the water at frequent intervals during the washing process.

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Warnings

Scum may form at the surface of the brine. It isn't harmful as long as the olives are fully submerged, but it should be removed when it forms.

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Lye burns should be treated by running them under fresh tap water for 15 minutes and then consulting a physician. Never try to neutralize a lye burn with lemon juice or vinegar; mixing acids and bases can be dangerous.

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