Picking from this season's only productive tree, beside causeway. Olives are plump and dark but some have already started to shrivel.I was interested in trying some different preserving methods (have previously brine-cured following Stephanie Alexander's book), and seem to remember reading an online method for drying involving branches of rosemary. Do like dried olives, and have plenty of rosemary! And as some were already shrivelling, and others a bit soft, this seemed the safest way to go.
Googling turned up some likely methods, one from the 'About.com' website http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekcookingtips/qt/cureolives.htm and a factsheet from the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8267.pdf
The basic method (drawing on both those sources):
Dried Olives 
- Line a basket, wooden box or plastic bin with draining holes with burlap, cheesecloth or nylon mesh.
- Put mix of olives and pickling salt or course sea salt (so not iodised or with other additives) into the container.
- Cover with another inch of salt and place clean cloth over top.
- Place outside, under cover, standing in a tray to avoid staining of floor, ensuring air flow around base.
- Shake daily and add a little extra salt each 2-3 days for 3-4 weeks, rinsing and tasting to check for bitterness (About.com).or
Remix after one week by pouring into a clean pail and then back into the first container. Add a small layer of salt to top, cover with clean cloth and let stand till ready. - When ready, shake/strain off excess salt.
To store, add salt (1/10 by weight) and store in airtight containers in a cool place. Will last a month, or up to 6 months in fridge, or up to 12 months in freezer. To serve, shake/strain off salt and dip quickly in boiling water to clean, and air dry at room temperature overnight. Then marinade for a few days in olive oil to regain plumpness or coat with olive oil (with hands). Add herbs to serve.
By the way, will never eat those old-fashioned black olives in jars again - turns out they're unripe green olives that they turn black artificially with nasty chemicals and forcefully bruising them with pumped air (or something like that ...).
So there's now a plastic strainer, lined with a piece of hessian, filled with olives and salt, and sitting on a tray out on the front step! Am a bit nervous about the fruit having been damaged, and a bit disappointed I can't use rosemary or other flavourings at this stage. But have turned up a meal's worth of good recipes for olives to use later when they're ready.
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