Freeze Olives: Yes or No? All Information and Alternatives

Freezing Olives: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Do It

If you are considering freezing olives, keep the following things in mind:

• Do not freeze olives. Olives contain a lot of water and are therefore mushy after thawing.
• Since olives also contain a lot of bitter substances, frozen olives taste very bitter.
• For this reason, the fruits are pickled in brine. This removes all bitter substances from the olive.
• Pickling is a good method that not only keeps the olives for a long time but also makes them edible.

Pickling olives: How to preserve the fruit

If you want to pickle olives, soak the washed fruit in a saltwater bath for a few weeks. This removes all bitter substances from the olives and you can then pickle them.

1. Brine: First, dissolve 500 grams of salt in a liter of water. Place the olives in a bowl and cover them completely with the brine. Leave the fruit in a dark, cool place, changing the liquid daily. Check again and again how bitter the fruit is. If you like them, you can pickle them.
2. Pickling: Then put the olives in a disinfected glass. Add your favorite spices. For example, you can use bay leaves, sprigs of rosemary, chili, hot peppers, or peppercorns. Finely chopped vegetables also go well with the pickled olives.
3. Add some red wine vinegar or table vinegar. How much you add depends on your taste. Two to three teaspoons are perfectly adequate.
4. Then fill the jar with sunflower or olive oil until all the olives are completely covered by the liquid. Seal the jar airtight. Store the pickled olives in a cool, dark place. The fruits can be kept for up to half a year.