What Happens When You Cure Olives 4 YEARS in Brine?

In this video, I show what happens when you cure or preserve homegrown olives in brine for fours years! I give a taste test on our fermented olives and also describe the process.
Support me on Patreon: / selfsufficientme
Using the links below also helps support my channel:
Help support the Channel and buy a T-shirt/Merchandise from our Spreadshirt shop: goo.gl/ygrXwU or Teespring (below the video).
Go here to get Birdies Raised Garden bed in the USA: shop.epicgarde... and use SSME2020 for a 5% discount.
Check out www.gardentoolsnow.com/ for tools I recommend to use.
Shop on Amazon for plants or garden equip: bit.ly/2yRFNGQ
Shop for plants or garden equip on eBay Australia: bit.ly/2BPCykb
Blog: www.selfsuffici... (use the search bar on my website to find info on certain subjects or gardening ideas)
Forum: www.selfsuffici...
Facebook: / selfsufficie. .
Twitter: / sufficientme
Subscribe to my channel: goo.gl/cpbojR
Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Everyone! Here is the tapenade recipe (very basic and hopefully self-explanatory) selfsufficientme.com/recipes/tapenade-made-from-over-cured-preserved-olives

[@voldtitan1284]

Just a quick question but what types of fruits or veggies can I grow in California which is a subtropical climate zone?

[@sixpinkoneblue]

Here is a really good article about curing and then safely canning them. That mush you made I would be a little leary of eating it lol, it looked too bitter. anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8267.pdf

[@russmonte5176]

How much brine.what kind of salt?

[@thefilthygamer3427]

Honestly I was like yeah sounds like a good idea then you said mold

[@jcrapper4228]

Self Sufficient Me Gday m8 Cheers from the mountains of Utah USA

[@adoschtinad]

Mark this comment may be totally unrelated to the video itself but I really just wanted to say your attitude and demeanour arpund your beautiful garden has helped me take my mind off a lot of unnecessary negativity through the last year since I found your channel. Im a 23 year old guy who is saving up to buy a small lot of land and set up a compact home type of situation where I grow my own veggies and maybe even keep some chickens. Your videos bring me inspiration and I think even helped me realise that's what i want with my life. Keep on keeping on

[@TUKByV]

I wish you luck!

[@adoschtinad]

@@TUKByV thank you!

[@stuartmccloud307]

Good luck to you mate. I agree, Mark has an attitude that is enviable. I wish I could summon up the same sort of resolve.

[@kimberleygirl7533]

MBL Lawyer good on you. I’m 64, a woman and I’m getting to that stage too.....you’ve got a head start..

[@RhyBeezy]

MBL Lawyer me too

[@ccdallas3628]

You’re the most valuable and delightful person on the internet.

[@shawtop]

Definitely Agreed kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4azomN8ltOLhsk

[@dankyjoker]

Yeah, this dude is awesome. He's the Tree Trunk Man round here.

[@conflectiz]

As a Lebanese person, olives are an item that we never run out of. In Lebanon the olive trees are harvested every season in September, however, every other season the olive trees bear a significantly larger yield.

[@601salsa]

In greece and italy the olive groves are being annialated by a disease. Entire groves are being wiped out. I hope it doesnt get to your country. Whilst i dont like olives i am glad for those who do.

[@rustinpeace770]

conflectiz Nice profile picture!!!

[@westexascaser4324]

I never knew lesbians loved olives so much

[@Datmeega]

Rust In Peace I love the album favorite song out of it? Mine might be hanger 18

[@conflectiz]

Frogmire mine is tornado of souls and take no prisoners.

[@academyofanalysis8236]

I've started my own garden thanks to this channel. Im growing sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, herbs, blackberries, and soon carrots and kale!

[@truthhurtz2793]

That is Awesome !!!

[@docmarmalade5224]

Wow, yummy. Do you have a plan to control the blackberry growth? They grow near my house in huge batches.

[@Jean.34]

First you should know that cutting olives and changing the brine water are only made when people are seeking to have them ready for serving in 2 months period. iF you have time and you want to preserve them for longer period, you should not change the water or even cut the olives. Keep them intact and soak them with brine water and they shall remain preserved with full flavor for 2 years. However, if you wish to preserve them for much longer such as 4 or even 10 years, then you should use olive oil instead of brine. They would last for very long time. A good thing you should consider when you make olive is add one or all of these : sliced Limons to give them an acidic hint, little green spicy pepper if u like to give them a spicy hint, and Thymes leafs to give them a more natural enhanced flavour.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on olive curing and preserving - notes taken! All the best :)

[@rvalasini9938]

Excellent tips.. thank you :)

[@LilithZephirus]

I came down the comments to write this. At first I was like "sure, you can do that" but then I saw he cut them and knew they were going to be soggy and too salty.

[@Jean.34]

@@LilithZephirus exactly

[@Shadi2]

you have to make sure it's acidic or you can get BOTULISM. it loves a low oxygen environment like soaking in oil. it doesn't mind the presence of sodium chloride (salt).

[@karmanivek1]

You can build a greenhouse dome over them and dig 10 feets in the ground for a 6 inch flexible pipe . If you install maybe 6 of them it will bring natural cool air from underground to the greenhouse and open hatches on the top of the dome to let hot air goes out. Cheap no maintenance way to create an hivernal-ish environment.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Sounds like a project that I'll love to get into! Thanks for the suggestion :)

[@jeil5676]

Or just buy a jar of olives.

[@ItsMeChillTyme]

But during the night this would result in hot air from underneath starting sundown, woudln't it? The ground will radiate away the heat it received from the sun during the day as far as I remember. Also more to consider is the fact that the mud underneath would dry out due to temperature change over time which will eventually result in you rewetting it. Essentially if we boil this down this is a very passive sort of swamp cooler effect which only works so long as heat is there to evaporate the water and in the process lose energy to become colder. However, when the rate of evaporation is not high enough it will only raise humidity with much less change in temperature and low night temps with high humidity is a good way to invite a lot of pest and mold issues.

[@karmanivek1]

@@ItsMeChillTyme If there's hot air coming from underground ( i doubt it but let's assume it does) , you can install a valve to control the air flow. The ground does indeed radiate away the heat but in this case the shade of the tree makes it not that much of a deal. For the rest, all you need is some fans to control the moisture content by creating a vortex in the dome that will push the hot air at the top of the dome. Me an intellectual : Just put an AC, case closed. lol

[@antoniobennett5330]

When I aquire land that's my plan

[@yokobono3324]

The home that I spent my childhood living in down in southern California had one single mighty olive tree in the front yard. Each year it would produce an insane amount of olives. My family was not very handy in the garden if you catch my meaning, so sadly I never got to enjoy any of the fruit, but we did have a man who came by every year and would pay my parents to allow him to harvest our tree. We moved out of that house when I turned 12, and the family that moved in afterwards apparently found that olive tree to be a nuisance and decided to remove it, which I always find a bit sad every time I drive by. Either way, I will forever associate the olive tree with a carefree childhood. Your video conjured up those distant memories, thank you.

[@flyhigh9944]

Morthalis that’s sad about the olive tree, how could someone cut down such an amazing and beneficial tree. Having said that all trees are special though.

[@ShepardCommander]

My olive trees planted by my great great grandfather took 40 years to start producing (galician mansa cultivar) and we have the perfect climate for them. they are over a century old now and produce big batches every couple of years.

[@smason4794]

All the way from Florida united states. I'm so happy I found your channel about 3 years ago. Every time I hear G'day my whole mood changed for the better. Keep doing what you do Mr. Mark

[@MilesB1975]

I ran a Pizzeria for years and have used hundreds of barrels of brine soaked olives. I thought that was the normal way of keeping them. Also the plastic barrels became my aquaponics system.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Oh really!? That's cool, cheers :)

[@MilesB1975]

@@Selfsufficientme If you ask your local pizza joint... They used to be a 13kg Plastic food grade rectangular drum. They are usually chucking them away. www.aegeanexports.gr/pages/product.aspx?lng=en&pid=132

[@get6149]

how are the drums big enough for the fish

[@JoeltheOrnery]

Just a thought, clay containers (ancient) probably allowed for evaporation which would make the brine stronger over time. Maybe the next experiment in a clay container?

[@sueyoung2115]

Joel Weidinger, Terra Cotta or clay pots conduct earth's energy. (The earth is like a huge battery, generating negative ( life-giving, electro magnetic energy.) The preservation process happens partially because of this. (Plastic is an insulator which quite separates the contents from the energy.) Food for thought.🙏😁

[@emilya3621]

Just make sure that it's food grade clay pots. Some clay pots can have lead in them.

[@sueyoung2115]

@@emilya3621 good point

[@Selfsufficientme]

Hmmm, yes, interesting... Good point Joel thanks :)

[@JoeltheOrnery]

@@emilya3621 Lead was once used for bright colored glazes, however, potters began removing lead from their glaze recipes. here is a link to gent's video on testing for lead in clay. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX-qgYNsl5mNkJI

[@YamiKisara]

Marc, typically you would wash out cured foods for hours before eating it. Like salted meat would need to be soaked for several hours, changing the water a few times, otherwise it would be too salty to eat. I imagine it's the same for the olives. Just rinsing them isn't enough, you need to give them a thorough soak and I imagine the salt would go back a lot and their natural flavour gets more pronounced that way. Give it a try if you haven't processed them all yet.

[@WildHeartsandWildflowers]

What a fun, interesting video, Mark! I tried curing my olives in a salt-brine for two years, in glass quart jars, rinsing several times in the first three months. The results were a little better than yours I think, but not as good as I want, so the experimenting will continue. :-) I have about 100 olive trees on my northern California property, mostly very old Sevillanos (gorgeous w/ huge olives) with a few Manzanillas mixed in here and there (much smaller olives). All the trees are quite prolific, though biennial to a small degree. Thanks for the variety of videos you produce, Mark. They're helpful, entertaining, and motivating. In the last fours years, I've established a good-sized fruit and nut orchard, as well as various vegetable and flower gardens, and I also keep chickens (and now ducks!) for eggs. Channels like yours have guided me and kept me company along the way.

[@Selfsufficientme]

100 olive trees wow! I think olive oil is the go. Sounds like a lovely property you have established there in Cali. All the best :)

[@cringkiloli]

hi mark, my grandmother used to cure calamansi and/or kumquat fruits in highly concentrated brine. Within the first few weeks of doing so, she would often let it bask under the sun with the lid open to prevent moulding. the preserved fruits are then a great cure for sore/ itchy throats where we would just get a teaspoon of it and make it into a savoury tea with boiling water. we still have a jar of the preserved fruit which is around 15 years old in the kitchen cupboard.

[@annj769]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It sounds right on so many levels. Will do the sunning when next preserving in ?summer. Wondering if it'd work in winter sunshine around 20deg.

[@kilinu85]

We still do this in the Mediterranean (Malta) - our crop can vary year to year - 2017 and 2018 had bad harvests - so we store them in brine pretty much as you have. Only difference is that we change the brine 6 monthly. The type of olive also makes a difference - ours are small and very bitter so curing (we also salt) is usually preferable to raw. There’s a Siciluo-Maltese dish you’d like that the olives can be used in known as caponata/ kapunata

[@Fingolfin3423]

This channel brings me a sense of calmness and enjoyment. I enjoy the natural sounds in the background. Thank God you don't use music or sound effects, as that ruins so many channels and videos out there. Thank you.

[@beauwilliams5763]

Great vid You inspired me so much that I built my own garden bed

[@Selfsufficientme]

Good on ya! :)

[@hosamsati5757]

Brother, we still do that in Syria and Turkey. If you need to reserve the flavour you store it in olive oil, but it will be really expensive and costly, but it will be really nice favoured

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Yes, olive oil storage would be more costly but I imagine as you say the flavour is much better. All the best :)

[@bpdd85]

In Spain we put them in vinagre, garlic, small onions and pickles. Add some chillies if u want a bit of spicy flavor/taste.

[@horanbenjamin]

My wife and I went gleaning 4 years ago and put our olives in brine a good way to see if you added enough salt is put a fresh egg in the e water once it floats there is enough salt added, we have not changed the water at all and pull a jar worth out every now and then and add them to vegetable oil not olive oil they are still fairly firm and have been getting better each year the lady that taught me how its done gave me a tast of 7 year old olive they where the best olives I have ever tasted also you can put them in a jar with just salt put the olives in the jar and fill with salt the liquid will come out of the olives and fill the jar we also put a slit in each olive to help the salts penetrate. Personally I like olives at least 2 years old

[@xion1305]

I absolutely love you and your channel. Your such a kind and humble man. I love gardening and ethical farming practices. I hope only the best for you, your family and mission to show people the happiness of self sufficient living.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you, that's kind of you to say :)

[@xion1305]

@@Selfsufficientme thank you for such heart warming content. :)

[@DropBearJroc]

I'd say that the "white mould" is actually yeast, Mark.

[@sueyoung2115]

Probably lacto-bacteria. This is what makes milk into yogurt or cheese, and grain into beer or other alcoholic beverages.

[@DropBearJroc]

@@sueyoung2115 yes, definitely that, as well.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks J-Roc - well, I'm still alive so that's a good sign lol... Cheers :)

[@nothingbutchappy]

Yeah it's a yeast, you get them on fermented foods when you let sunlight get to them. Harmless but can effect taste..

[@MsHojat]

lactic-acid bacteria and/or lactobacillius doesn't make beer. It might sometimes _be_ in certain types of beer (usually extremely niche beers, granted my favorite type of beer: lambics), but it is generally undesired and isn't what produces any alcohol. It's actually more likely to be what _spoils_ your beer and other fermented alcoholic beverages.

[@mitchellul]

"It tastes like a soggy olive, to be honest."

[@barbarusezz7008]

Here in Jordan , traditionally we don't cut the olives but instead we bash them with a smooth rock (not too hard) , cut some lemons and throw them in there with some chopped green hot peppers (just a little ).

[@bakedveal2624]

In case nobody mentioned, this guy is beyond stocky and damn ripped. Me at my young and dumbest would never think to tangle with this fella.

[@fulltimber]

I’m more interested with your coffee tree right behind you !

[@Selfsufficientme]

Yeah the coffee tree is doing well, isn't it! I haven't fermented the berries or attempted coffee as yet but I have some ideas :)

[@fulltimber]

Self Sufficient Me kzbin.info/www/bejne/raOriWiDf9tmabs , a fellow named josh has started producing coffee in Hawaii. Just a small operation , though it’s going well as a family operation

[@SuicidalKamikaze]

@@Selfsufficientme Thought it was a Kratom tree at first. Same family though

[@shawtop]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4azomN8ltOLhsk

[@lyarnes]

Back home in Tucson, AZ I lived in a duplex that had a row of 7 mature olive trees in the front of the property. I convinced the property owner to NOT spray the trees to prevent flowering so I could harvest the fruit. And these wise old trees produced like mad! I made my YiaYia’s Greek olive recipe each year and they were amazing! So worth the effort, and the sneezing (one of the things that drives me insane 😁).

[@preciouseureka625]

I don't even like olives but I happily sat through this video....Mark, anytime you want to show us what you do with your harvests count me in, I'm always so curious!

[@DjKixk]

great stuff mark

[@StanislavG.]

Mark, try growing the Souri Olive (Syrian Olive, Lebanese Olive), it'll be perfect for your climate, well suited to freezing and drought. The fruit is not big, but it's crisp and the taste is amazing. I pick them when they get blue (in late January, here in Israel), at this stage they develop a bitter chocolate aftertaste... Also you should put olive oil in the jar to prevent mold. And it's not necessary to cut the olives. I never cut or crush them (crushing is more traditional), i think there's no point in doing it - just leave them in a 10-to-1 (water, salt) brine solution for 6 months or more, and you'll have a nice crisp, pleasantly bitter olives. Don't forget adding lemon and garlic :))

[@Forevertrue]

Nice of you to include your daughter too. Thanks for this. Here in East Texas they say we have a good climate for olive trees. Not too cold but nice and hot in the summers.

[@nephtalliramjah4708]

Mark you are a true light warrior! I really appreciate your videos and attitude. Thank you!

[@jennymullins593]

I am laughing my head off, but also worrying about what the olive tasting may do to you. You're jolly brave, & incredibly patient! I'm struggling to wait 12 days for a sourdough starter culture to be ready! And every 12 days that pass, I tell myself: 'it could've been ready to go by now, goose!' Your videos are good for the soul, as well as for encouraging gardeners! Hope you survive! I'm still laughing! :D

[@Selfsufficientme]

Good on ya Jenny! Thank you :)

[@patriciamay638]

You are a very brave man.

[@nealthomson9505]

if you want those trees to fruit again then all you must do is chop off the top in winter to stress them a bit more. it also makes it easier to harvest because they dont grow much higher then.

[@kmw4359]

Hey Mark, something to consider. If the ancient people used to store olives in brine in terra-cotta pots, those are porous. The liquid would keep sleeping out and they’d have to keep adding water if they didn’t want to let them dry out. You get the same effect when you change out the brine while storing in a plastic container. Probably, you’d have needed to keep regularly changing the brine over the four years.

[@Arachne-qw1vr]

Oooh I'm going to try that in my new terracotta potato pot!

[@charlenecole1840]

Love your videos! I have one 2 ft olive tree I have kept alive for 5 years. Haven’t had nerve yet to plant in Oklahoma. You have given me hope ... so here we go👍

[@Selfsufficientme]

All the best with your olive tree Charlene! :)

[@yudhistirahayuatma]

You can stress the olive trees by peeling some of its tree bark

[@DropBearJroc]

To coax them to flower?

[@yudhistirahayuatma]

Yup, I never tried it with olives. But in Indonesia, it is common to peel the bark of "evergreen" tree (one with lush leaves, but never flowering) like longan to induce flower. Similar like grafting, but leaving about one finger width of tree bark.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Cincturing is the technical term and yes it might be worth a try thank you :)

[@yudhistirahayuatma]

Thank you, I learned a new word today. English is not my first language.

[@philnagle8932]

I paused Goodfellas to watch this video, and it was the best choice of my day. Thank you for all your amazing content.

[@giolybe4223]

Hi mate, as an oil producer of Greece, i think you should try the koroneiki variety. Its a greek one and it needs the less chill hours to produce. The kalamata needs more chill hours, even though it originates from the south part of Greece. Cheers

[@thumbalina1568]

I love your videos and your phrases I watch em everyday to get more ideas as I’ve stared a garden at the back of my small unit ! ☺️☺️

[@hotnessgaming1396]

This has quickly become one of my favorite channels. Just the idea of self sufficiency. And it’s so rewarding and fulfilling and cheap and fun. I am going at it full force now, going to be buying land soon and starting my own garden/forest. Can’t believe I wasted all these years being unhappy at something I was told I had to do to succeed in life. Better late than never though. Keep up the good work

[@MrAussie44]

Great vlog,,, I to preserve olives, when i am out working around perth and i see trees in a park or on the side of the road i get a bucket full,, i have some 3 years old,, My wife is Thai and does not like olives from the shop but loves mine,, I don't know why but maybe because not as salty,, What i do from watching my Italian grandparents and family friends is like some one said if you cut the olive then you will want to eat it in say 2 to 4 weeks,, keep them whole and air tight with some olive oil on top,and they will last for years,, some jar will leak but thats ok ,, i keep mine in a cool dark place until i open a jar,, scrape off the top ones and all good to eat,, then put the jar in the fridge,,,mmmm Garlic and chilli is also put in the jars when making,,, yum

[@MyChilepepper]

Thank you for sharing. I have two olive trees but only one has been fruiting every other year for the past 10 years. They need to be pruned because most olives tend to flower from new branches.

[@dawnb.6948]

Awesome! Thanks for all the info. Love you lots in Ohio, USA. P.S. Glad you didn't need an ambulance called 💟

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks for looking out for me Dawn! Cheers :)

[@Dillon-Moore]

You know. I think he is the Steve Irwin of gardening for me. His attitude and dry humor and crazy amounts of knowledge have turned me into a gardening fan and I'm only 24. And I know from the comments I'm not the only young person and that's no small feat. I love this channel, it has literally changed me for the better and shown me the actual interestingness of the self sufficient life style

[@shas1269]

Olive trees should be harvested once every 2 years, and they would flower even in hot weather (like here in Palestine) also, you can use different kinds of brine and the minimum time you need to brine them is 2 3 months (you can tell when they start to get ready by the change in color) You can add little chili's to give it a little kick, lemon slices add citrusy taste, and dill goes well with that too... And the BEST brine you can use is saltwater also, to tell if it's a male or female pick an olive and break it with your nails if it has this reddish color then it's a male if not then it's a female you're welcome and bon apetite! :)

[@mrgeography82]

People who are disliking are very sad! Great video, mate!

[@manaherb6]

Chill video. Cool to see someone being in tune and loving their land.

[@barking.dog.productions1777]

Another great video. As a new subscriber I appreciate your content, and your jolly attitude. As far as the olives go, I would probably take a few and allow them to dry out a bit to see if that improves the taste and texture. The experiment has gone on for 4 years already so another week to see if the olives can be brought back to a better state would be a good finale. Since this video is a month old it may be too late by now, but just my 2 cents.

[@TheTrock121]

I just got a Red Cabbage to ferment some Kimchee. Love Olives and this tempts me to ferment some olives w/ Aspergillus.

[@sallyride5618]

I really enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming. I invite you into my brain daily, and it is wonderful. I never tire of learning about your adventures on the other side of the globe. I learn gardening tips from you and gain inspiration to try new things all the time. Thanks!

[@fredazcarate4818]

Oh.. cheers mate! Once again you have come to scratch, and delivered a knock out. Again thank you for sharing your agricultural knowledge. I eagerly await your next video lecture.

[@foracal5608]

I live In the US on the coastal area of Texas hot humid and have two trees if it is a warm winter I take shaved ice and dump a bunch around the roots to spur it on as a false winter and they bloom the spring time when the winter only drops down to about 50f

[@paintballpreppertmvawomani1341]

Have you ever done tobacco? i am trying it this year and don't know anything about it. I have looked up other video but they don't show the complete process very good. You always show in detail how to grow and ferment and dry out and tip and tricks. Your the best I have found in imformation wise.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Tobacco does grow wild around here but no I haven't tried it. Cheers :)

[@tonyoney1532]

You are truly great Mate, where else would I find info on four year old olives. Keep up the good works.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Hahaha, thanks Tony! :)

[@dirtgirl7379]

I learned that the water must be change every day for 30 days then put in a brine for a year. I never enjoyed the result. So on a whim I salt cured my olives and I will never do it any other way. Poked the skins wit a fork and packed them directly in salt. When the salt is totally saturated, I switch out the salt and dry the wet salt for olive juice infused salt to cook with. I change salt out until the olives stop saturating it. Then let them sit a bit longer. If I can. They're so yummy we devour them. They can be stored in olive oil for ages.

[@woodyahh2110]

Try this to get your olives to fruit On the coldest night that you get put ice down/chilled water to chill the roots in the ground

[@pplusbthrust]

TIP WORTH A TRY; Dig around the base of the tree and expose those roots. it will help cool the plant more in winter.

[@samjones3546]

The cultivar of olives makes a huge difference. Feral olive trees that grow from bird droppings produce small inferior tasting olives, but good cultivars grafted onto the root stock will produce nice tasting olives.

[@kieutpie7914]

You crack me up. Lol. I was so worried for you for a moment there. First year attempting to farm for me and I love your channel. Keep it up Mark!!!

[@Selfsufficientme]

Best of luck with your property Kieu! Cheers :)

[@johnburton5757]

Try putting a heap of ice around a tree during a cold spell in winter might get some flowering. That got our cherries happening in a frost free zone. Good video, Thanks.

[@WildFloridian]

That is commitment! 4 years. Respect for the try.

[@ivoman7]

A heads up. 1,3K thumbs up versus 15 thumbs down doesn't endorse this process over eating olives fresh and ripe. It just show the appreciation of this broadcast. Also, in the interest of any broadcaster, he/she gains just as much from a thumb up as from a dumb down. No thumb activity is what is not desired. I think the brine thing is a myth. What I can believe is that they would be put in water, temporarily, for transport by ship. Or, more simply, they made olive oil first and transported that in a jars, across the sea. Cheerios! :)

[@patrickgalla7588]

I see your still alive Mark from your culinary experience and experiment. Keep dishing out the videos brother.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Yeah I made it through Patrick! Thankfully... Cheers mate :)

[@patrickgalla7588]

@@Selfsufficientme Mark, as a fellow retired vet, I was pondering on the question were you like that while you served😂🤣. You know what I mean?😂🤣Risk taking

[@patrickgalla7588]

Btw here is a link for companion planting www.ruralsprout.com/tomato-companion-plants/

[@stephenbird5641]

You reminded me that I put some Thai olives in pickling vinegar over a year ago. I just went to try them, bad idea. They went in the lake as fish food or fertiliser. Thai olives grow in high temperatures and are very heavy cropping over a period of months. They are not as good as Italian or Greek olives though.

[@valentinenzioki2364]

1à

[@loganclementi8947]

Microorganisms can use vinegar as food, like sugar

[@katblyth8153]

I had no success with growing an olive tree in a huge container here in Launceston. However, thought I’d share my favourite way of preserving green olives, from Crete as I understand it. Use pitted green olives, or else make a few slits in each unpitted olive. Place in a sterilised bottle, top with Seville (bitter) orange juice, float some olive oil on the top to make the fruit airtight, then seal with the lid and refrigerate. Keeps about a year. My Seville orange tree is now producing very well (yes! In Launceston), so I now at least can use my own juice even if the olives are purchased!

[@MrMathewfeliciano]

Olive ur videos...hahaha! Good stuff brother. Thx 4 the info

[@Selfsufficientme]

LOL... That's a rippa! Cheers :)

[@darkwingduck5006]

Thank you for sharing your experience's with us. Your life style gives me motivation to keep plugging on in these trying times!

[@FlapjackFritz]

That was a really fun watch. Thanks!

[@MrCander000]

This was the 1st year my 4 year old Sevillano olive tree bloomed. There were thousands of tiny olives, then one day they were gone. I hope that was just because it was the 1st bloom. I was really looking forward to learning how to brine the olives. Maybe next year.

[@carltonoliver8610]

Mark just want to say I really like your channel, a lot of really good ideas, Just bought some property and will be using some of them so thanks for sharing. The other thing is on olive storage, years ago i watched a documentary on a sunken vessel that had been located in the Mediterranean, cant remember exactly but I think they said it was over 2000 years old they pulled up several amphora and opened one that contained olives and ate some of them talking about how they still tasted good. Thought that was a hoot

[@anthonysgarden7307]

To get the trees producing lots of olives I recommend you take a rubber mallet and give the tree trunks a god thrumming with it. This works for figs, citrus and olives. Vibration stress method, worth a try.

[@jettahickens7924]

Thanks, Mike, for those great tips! I appreciate it.

[@YellowFacedMunchkin]

I really enjoyed your enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@vilijanac]

It is actually that in oil they stored, all sorts of things, even meat. :)

[@phantomkate6]

No. The video's title says it's brine.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Yes you can store them in oil also. Cheers :)

[@sergiomontes7132]

"you and I are going on a culinary journey" love it!

[@Mostspecialusername]

Don't know if it was mentioned before but olive trees need regular pruning, It is usually the 2nd year branch that gives fruit.

[@samscrivens326]

I love your videos! Nothing worse than being served a soggy olive! Tapenade is the way to go though. Small amounts on some dried bread. Maybe a sun dried tomato ontop to give it a bit of sweetness.

[@MegaMackproductions]

A nice way to do olives is pitted and stuffed with cheese then wrapped in prosciutto. I also like to grind them to paste and put that onto sandwiches

[@MickyBellRoberts]

Mark, you have a lot of patience with those olives.

[@nafvol5053]

recipe i know here in italy is:for every kg of olives 1 litre water ,20 grams caustic soda.soak olives overnight,next day put them in solution of water and caustic soda(some use acid).keep soaked until the caustic soda has penetrated (you see that by cutting an olive)once it has reached the centre rinse and put in water,change water 3 times a day until water is clear,you want to get rid of the bitterness.once water is clear make brine 1 litre water-80g salt to store them adding also some wild fennel. ps :when picking olives be delicate,don't bruise them or they will turn black,olives are picked in august for brine(still green),to make olive oil in october

[@niranjanjm2350]

Your good self is healthy enough to beat 💪 any bacteria... Touchwood

[@lindaertel7558]

You are very courageous!

[@gemmalugoochoa9829]

I lived in the coast of Baja California and we once cured olives cutting a little cross at the tip of each and soak them in sea water, changing the water daily (we had plenty ha ha!) and in 2 weeks the bitter taste dissapeared and they were delicious. I guess -once we get rid of the bitterness - we can store them in the brine more succesfully. Greetings from Mexico!

[@Moodymongul]

I've seen this in my home, in an unopened jar of green olives in brine (that had fallen behind the cupboard). It was more than a decade past it's sell/buy date. It was still sealed, no rust, a little mold on top of the brine (making a barrier, perhaps), smell was ok and the olives were soft but edible :) Not for me, but I guess I could have made an olive paste out of it.

[@lnunya5873]

I realize this is an older video but perhaps you'll see this. You could try putting a large block of ice under the tree, near trunk, to trick tree into thinking it's cooler than it is. That's what I do for my pears here in Texas. It can be a hassle but it might help your harvest.

[@gnarlytreeman]

Good video, i didnt know olives didnt flower without cold enough temperature.

[@tauceti8341]

I absolutely love the living history experiment. I was interested in acquiring some olive trees, like you I love em. I didn't know that had a high chill requirement though like most fruits. Like you most of my trees think it's permanently winter, and I've only gotten one harvest from my fruit trees.

[@mr-vet]

If I ever travel to Australia again (was last there in Canberra at the DSD, in 1998 (during my US Army service), I would love to pay you a visit.....

[@sueyoung2115]

Loved it! Thanks, Mark. Great video. I had to add a bunch of comments. I have made fermented veggies,beer, and yogurt for years. Lacto fermented foods are so healthy and a wonderful (ancient) method of food preservation. Gratitude for the sharing!

[@Selfsufficientme]

I agree Sue about lacto-fermentation it's not only good for us but tasty also! Cheers :)

[@debbieguthrie2307]

This is really interesting. I don't know why four years and not one the same as grocery store olives. Great stuff man

[@debbieguthrie2307]

I remembered what else. Instead of scoring the olives why not pit them, of course after four years, they might already be tapenade. eww

[@MrHunterseeker]

I always used to see my grandma and mom disinfect the container with hot soapy water and made sure to keep their hands extremely clean when working with whatever fruit or vegetable they were canning (If I were to can anything I think I would go as far as using rubber gloves to prevent bacteria from being introduced to the food). After cleaning the containers with scalding hot soapy water, they would immediately fill the containers with the fruit or vegetable they were canning. They would fill them to the brim leaving no air space between the brine and the lid and tighten the lids down. Then pressure cook the jars in water that looked to come up on the jars about halfway, boiling and a pressure cooker to ensure they were vacuum sealed (this is just going from memory, I have no idea what they were doing really, I just know that is the ritual I always saw them doing during the canning process and we never had any bad batches of anything and the food could stay good for years in the can house) . I think the problem you are having is dirty container and air getting to the olives/brine when it needs to be clean and airtight.

[@stephenbird5641]

Mark you are not wasting space. You grow more grass than food. You should try Asian olives, yes they come from asia which is why Bangkok is called Bangkok. I've been to Bahn Kok which was where whitey first used to go ashore in Thailand. Our tree was planted about 4 years ago and last year made more fruit than we could collect. This year it has tens of thousands of flowers/fruits, a season that lasts about 4 months. It's a tropical plant and doesn't need a cold winter to fruit. It's called 'Ma Kok Nam'.

[@maralfniqle5092]

But then they're not real olives

[@portaadonai]

6:14 6:32 8:45 10:29 RIP 'Self Sufficient Me' 2020 Thanks for all the videos, it was nice knowing you

[@DovidM]

Olives are often soaked in lye to cut the bitterness. Green olives soaked in lye when exposed to the air turn black.

[@TheRaven8181]

Love your stuff man. Keep it up.

[@lauriewilliams8221]

I've tasted olives cured in Cognac. Open a glass jar of olives, eat the olives & drink the Cognac BELLISSIMO. as the old Italian host used to say.

[@looloo4029]

laurie williams I reckon, open the drum, drink the cognac and throw the olives away!

[@jackbell8941]

Deadset Aussie legend!