Posted: Thu Dec 5, 2019 4:59pm
Hi both. I did it in the early days, but gave up on it as ours are what I call ordinary olives, and I prefer the big ones I buy off the market with a whole clove of garlic in each olive. Not sure my friends like them second-hand though!
The only way to tell if they're ready is to taste one and see if the bitterness has disappeared.
They come ready more quickly if you break the skin by bashing or cutting to break the skin before you put them in brine.
Also make sure there's enough salt in the brine. The easy way to test that is to put an egg in the brine - if it floats then it's OK. If there isn't enough salt then it will take a lot longer before the olives are ready, and there's also the risk of mould forming.