Instructions

1. Wash olives well with clean water. Discard stems and leaves. Throw out any shriveled olives or one with pieces taken out of them (as from birds pecking).

2. Slit each olive at least three times lengthwise down to the pit.

3. Cover the olives with tap water, seal the lid and allow them to soak for four to seven days, changing the water three times a day. Taste the olives after the fourth day to determine when it is best to stop soaking them. The olives are done soaking when they no longer taste bitter and unpalatable. Drain the water.

4. Mix the salt with 1 gallon of water to make a 10 percent solution or a brine. Pour the brine over the olives, filling the container and sealing the lid. The olives will float at the top. Stir once a day. In three to four days, all the olives will settle to the bottom of the container. Drain.

5. Fill the container with just enough fresh water to cover the olives. Optionally, after draining the brine, rinse the olives once to remove any sediment before covering them with water. That is a matter of personal preference, however, as some people like the sediment.

6. Pour 2 pints of the vinegar into the container and seal the lid. Stir once each day for at least three to eight days, tasting the olives every day from the third day on, until they taste as you desire. Mold might form on the surface of the olives if they are left to sit for longer than eight days before packaging. However, this type of mold, while unsightly, is not toxic. If mold appears, simply drain the liquid, rinse the olives with clean water and package immediately.

7. Package the olives into the mason jars using the slotted spoon, letting the liquid drain from each spoonful before dumping the olives into the jars. Gently tap the surface of the olives to fill the jars more compactly.

8. Add to each jar 1 heaping tsp. salt, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil. Seal the lids and shake each jar vigorously to combine the ingredients.