My own olives

Olives on the tree

This year I decided I want to make my own olives. The ones we can get in the supermarket are a bit too salty for my taste, and my father in law's olives last year were absolutely fantastic. It is a pretty simple process, but time consuming. We picked them straight from tree this year, since there are not that many. Most people spread a fabric or nylon under the tree and just shake them down - I would too, but it's not an olive year this time and so we chose to do gymnastics :)

These dark ones are called 'Kalamon' and are one of the most tasty ones. After an all morning olive-hunt I ended up with half a bucket, wish there were more, but since it's kind of an experiment this year, it's alright, I guess. They are now soaking in water, that needs to be changed every day to get out all bitterness. After 30 days I will put them in salt water for 24 hours, then in vinegar for another 24 hours, and then - finally - they will fill the jars and get covered in olive oil.

It's a really big bucket - I was very optimistic when I got it :)

Adriana slept most of the time - what can be better than a nap out in fresh air? :)