How To Cook Chicken Olives From Butchers? Top Answer Update

Olives come in a range of sizes and colors, adding a savory, salty twist to many recipes. From simple appetizers that wow to family-friendly dinners like the Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Olives and Lemon pictured here, we share over two dozen different ways to use olives. And if you’re new to the world of olives, we have a guide detailing 12 different varieties so you can choose the right one for your recipe.

Olives add a meaty, salty and flavorful quality to any recipe, making them particularly popular in Mediterranean cuisine. Olives pair well with fish and poultry, but they can also instantly – and elegantly – elevate a recipe like roasted cauliflower, a citrus salad, and even deviled eggs. Toss them with roasted veggies at the end of cooking to help them warm up but still retain their texture. Or garnish them raw on a salad to contrast the sweet fruits, nuts and tender greens.

One of the easiest and most delicious ways to enjoy olives is to marinate them in warm olive oil with herbs like rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, citrus zest and peppercorns. You can snack on them alongside a cheeseboard, bring them to a holiday gathering or dinner party, or even present them as a fabulous homemade hostess gift. We also have an easy Olive Tapenade recipe that uses a variety of blended olives for an easy spread that you can toss on sandwiches, pizza or even in scrambled eggs.

From Kalamata to Manzanilla, Castelvetrano and more, learn about the wonders of olives with these delicious recipes that make them shine.

Who doesn’t love a good olive snack? Native to the Mediterranean region, olives are a firm favorite among lovers of Mediterranean cuisine and food. But is it possible to store them for the long term?

Can you freeze olives? Yes, you can freeze olives for up to 6 months. There are a few methods for freezing olives. You can freeze fresh olives in an airtight container or soak them in brine beforehand to improve their texture after freezing. Can you refreeze olives? No, do olives freeze well? Once in a while

How to freeze olives

Freezing fresh olives is fairly easy, and you’re just a few simple steps away from having frozen olives in the freezer ready for the next time you need them:

1) Wash olives

Put the olives in a colander and let them stand under cold water for a few minutes. Drain them in the colander and then let them dry. You can use a paper towel to dry them if needed.

2) Store in a container

Grab a sturdy freezer-safe container with an airtight lid. Place the olives in the container, making sure to leave about a half inch of space at the top. The olives can expand as they freeze, and you need to leave room for that.

3) Freeze olives

Label and date the container and place in the freezer. After 30 minutes, shake the container slightly to prevent all the olives from freezing together.

This method works for all olives. You can use this method to freeze black olives, green olives, stuffed olives and nocellara olives.

How to Freeze Pickled Olives

You can also soak the olives in a salt water bath before freezing. This will help them retain the texture you know and love when they thaw.

make saline solution

Make some brine out of water that has been boiled with four ounces of salt per gallon of water, or 120 grams of salt per quart. brine olives

Place the olives in a pan and pour the brine over them. Cook this for ten to fifteen minutes. Wash

Remove the brine from the olives, place the olives in cold water, then remove the olives from the water and dry them. Save on computer

Place the olives in a freezer-safe container and freeze. Freeze

Make sure you label and date the olives before freezing.

3 tips for freezing olives

Now that you know how to freeze olives, we have our 3 top tips that we highly recommend when freezing to get the best results:

Brine to improve texture

Salting olives before freezing or buying pre-salted olives can help improve their texture. Frozen olives can soften a bit, but brine reduces the effects of freezing on texture.

Best used for cooking

As with many frozen products, you can mask the structural changes that occur by using them in cooked dishes. The same applies to olives. If you plan to use them on a pizza or stir them into pasta sauces like puttanesca, you won’t notice the texture change.

Flash Freeze

If you want to make it easier to grab one serving at a time, quick freezing prevents the olives from sticking together after freezing. However, it is a bit time consuming.

How Long Can You Freeze Olives?

Olives in general have a pretty impressive shelf life, and that goes for frozen olives too. You can keep frozen olives fresh in the freezer for up to six months, but we bet they won’t last that long! You’re just too tempting.

You can freeze olives for up to 6 months

How do you defrost olives?

Defrosting olives couldn’t be easier. You need to take your olives out and put them in the fridge for a couple of hours.

You should let them thaw overnight as this will ensure they are fully thawed and ready to use.

Can you refreeze olives?

We strongly advise against refreezing olives. This can have a drastic effect on the overall texture of the olives. Nobody wants mushy, bland olives and that’s exactly what can happen when you refreeze olives.

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Instead, try freezing them in a way that you can easily thaw one portion at a time.

Do olives freeze well?

They get mixed reviews when it comes to olive freezing. Some people don’t mind the slight texture change, others hate it. If you want to avoid the texture change, your best bet is to try the pickled olive version, as that should help avoid too many texture changes.

However, if you plan to use your frozen olives in sauces or mixed, you don’t have to worry about texture changes and can use the easier method to freeze them.

Related FAQs

If you still have questions about freezing olives, or olives in general, these may help: