1) Pick firm olives. Soft olives make mushy preserved olives.
I pick either green olives before they start to color up, or Kalamata olives after they’ve turned black, maybe before they’ve fully turned black.
By that I mean a little crown of green is fine.
Black olives after they’ve hung on the tree black for a month go mushy

2) Pick the olives into a bucket of water.
Bruising is a real problem. Don’t pick them into your pocket and then put them into the bucket, put them straight into the bucket.

3) Cover the olives with a plate to keep them under water.
Change the water every 2 days.
Every day is great, but not necessary.
Every five days is too long.
Take care not to bruise the olives. Rough handling will do that.
You don’t need salt at this stage.
Keep changing the water for 14 days if black, 21 days if green.
The water will show bubbling from the gas on the outside of the olives.
Its a good sign. So is a little bit of fungal scum on the top.

4) After the time make up a salt and water mix of around 1.5kg to 8 litres of water.
A fresh egg should just about float in the mixture.
Use warm water, not hot.

5) Drain the olives and use the salt/water mix to fill the bucket one last time.
Cover and let sit for 2 weeks.
Now the scum will really form, don’t panic, its fine.

6) Prior to moving the bucket to jar the olives, remove the scum.
If you are lucky it will come off like a piece of soggy cardboard.

7) Make up another salt/water mix.
In another bucket make up a 75% salt/water mix with 25% vinegar for black olives.
60% salt/water with 40% vinegar for green olives.
The green olives need more vinegar to continue the maturing process.

8) Use whatever flavours you want and add to jars.
I like a simple 2 slices of lemon with a crushed clove of garlic in the bottom of the jar and then add washed olives.
Add the liquid mix.
Or
Half a chilli & crushed garlic and the liquid mix
Or
A teaspoon of black peppercorns, crushed garlic, dried oregano and basil and the liquid mix.

9) Let the olives sit in the jar for a month and enjoy.