If you start thinking about Spanish food and tapas, you may at some point visualise a plate of olives. And that is because in the Mediterranean we absolutely love olives! Both for eating or for the wonderful olive oil. I won’t talk about olive oil today, because it deserves a whole section for it. But I am going to explain a few basics about olives. 

Are there different types of olives? First of all, I’d like you to think of Olives as if they were grapes. Just as different types of grapes, when crushed and fermented, give you different types of wine, well, it's the same with the olives.

There are nearly 300 different varieties of olives grown in Spain. In fact, Andalucia, in the south, is the largest olive-growing area on Earth. The most common varieties are Picual, Hojiblanca, Manzanilla and Arbequina. And guess what? Orange NSW has the perfect weather conditions for growing olive trees. 

I visit a lot of houses in town with my private dining business and I have come across so many customers who own olive trees but don’t know what to do with the olives once they are ready.

So, as I have promised them, I’m going to share here publicly my family recipe on curing olives from scratch. It requires a lot of time, but anyone can do it at home. In my family, it became a tradition to have all the different generations involved in the process, from the beginning to the end. I had never realised how important those intergenerational family lessons were until I found myself on the other side of the world sharing the same lessons and passed-on knowledge with my daughter (hoping that one day she carries that information to her descendants).

A lot of people have asked me if olives are good for you and the answer is, yes! In fact, they are very high in vitamin E and other powerful antioxidants. Studies show that they are good for the heart and may help protect against osteoporosis and cancer.  

But, here it is. My family recipe for all of you to tray and maybe teach your own children some day: ‘Aceitunas guisadas’:

 

Step 1 – ‘Pick the olives’ 

Start by picking your olives with family and friends. Choose the best-looking ones and put them all in big buckets. Have fun! These will be memories that your family won’t forget! 

 Step 2- ‘Wash and sort the olives’ 

Once your olives are picked from the tree, wash them well and remove any really damaged olives you missed while picking. A little bird pecked is fine, but if they are starting to rot then take those out. You want to see the flesh in perfect condition.

 Step 3-  ‘Cut or crushed? Soaking the olives’ 

Now here's the step that will determine how long you need to cure your olives. You can either choose to slit your olives or leave them whole. Slitting each olive will allow the water and salt to penetrate it faster and remove the bitterness. If you leave them whole, they'll need to sit in the brine a lot longer.

To slit the olives, use a sharp knife to cut a little slit into each olive. Alternatively, you can carefully 'crush' your olives with a heavy object such as a meat tenderizer or a flat stone. Crush them enough to just break the skin but not to completely flatten the olives.

Now it’s time to soak the olives in plain water for one month (until they are not bitter), changing the water daily (yep, every single day. From now on they are like your new pet!) Keep the olives completely submerged in the water (use an upside down plate with a weight to hold them under). 

 

Step 4- ‘How to cure my olives?’ 

After soaking them in water, it is time to ‘cook’ your olives in brine. You can make a simple brine solution using a ratio of 1 part salt to 10 parts water. Use unprocessed salts such as rock salt or sea salt. Cover the olives with the brine in a bucket, jar or container with a lid. Again, make sure the olives are again completely submerged. I put mine in a bucket and an upside-down plate works to hold them down. Loosely seal the jar or container with a lid. You may need to open it every couple of days for the first week to release some of the gases. If you crush or cut your olives they may only need to sit in the brine for one to two months depending on your taste. But, if you have left them whole, they can sit in the brine for six months or longer. 

Step 5-  ‘Wash them really well and time to add flavours!’

 

Time to remove all that saltiness! Wash them a few times, changing the water. Your olives are now cured, but we need to make them ‘restaurant-quality.’ In order to do so: add a LOT OF GARLIC, crushed, CITRUS peels of lemons and/or oranges, plus HERBS like rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, oregano. And then top it up with EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.

Remember! Olives like this can be stored in a sealed jar for up to a few months in a cool dark place or refrigerator. Once opened, use them that week.  

Step 6- ‘How to use them?’ 

Well, use them either as an appetiser, in salads, or even in fancy cocktails! It’s totally up to you. But, if I could make a suggestion, try one way we do it in expensive restaurants and serve them WARM. Yep, that’s right! Using either a microwave, or in a frying pan, warm your olives in order to release all those flavours and aromatics, plus the olive oil. Trust me, it will be a life-changing moment!

Enjoy!