Byzantine Pitted Olive Mix, Country, 5 Pound

> Approximately 1 gallon of delicious olives, and lots of them, simply processed, without excess favorings. No hot peppers, no excess garlic.> The packaging (into a heavy plastic bag) apparently consisted of draining the olives and then coating them with olive oil.SUGGESTIONS> The olives are salty. You may be tempted to soak them in plain water to reduce the salt content. Unless you plan to eat the olives in the next few hours, resist the temptation. First, you'll leach out too much salt and flavor. Second, the olives will rot in a few weeks. Really.> I suggest gently rinsing the olives with warm water in a large bowl when you receive them, and repackaging them in your own light brine and white vinegar mix (and jars), and refrigerate. The light brine will reduce the saltiness of the olives to an appropriate level in a day or two. It will take about 5 cups of water, about 1/4 cup of salt, and 1/3 cup of white vinegar to your taste. It is best to use "sea-salt" or pickling salt, because brine made from regular processed salt can get cloudy. You'll need two 1-gallon jars or (safer) four 1/2-gallon jars.> Surprisingly, 1 tablespoon of sugar takes the sharp edge off the vinegar and olive bitterness without being noticeable as "sweet". Regular sugar will cause the brine to be cloudy. I assume that raw sugar (haven't tried it yet) will not be cloudy.> I usually use white vinegar, but apple vinegar and sugar alters the flavor to that of Andalusian olives.> About 2 red, orange, and/or yellow bell peppers cut into 1" squares or 1/2" strips, adds a lot of color and flavor, and are very tasty themselves (after a day or two of pickling). Add a few capers and you have better version of what Amazon sells as "Byzantine antipasto mix". A roughly diced onion (or a handful of "cocktail onions") makes a good addition. That will increase the volume, so you may need more jars.> Make up your vinegar/brine mix in a 4-cup measuring cup. Pack the rinsed olives into the jars. Pour the brine into the jars, add extra water as needed to cover the olives. If you try to do it some other way, the sweet peppers or other light components will "float" to the top.> Refrigerate the jars of repackaged olives.> It is best to wash your measuring cup, jars and caps (and any other utensils) in your dishwaster just before packing the olives into them. The heat and detergent sterilizes the jars and utensils. The olives will keep longer (at least 3-4 months) if packed reasonably sterile. Jars of "store bought" olives often also "go bad" within a month after being opened. I've eaten quite a few olives "going bad" and never gotten sick--they just don't taste as good. I've had only one batch of my repackaged olives out of maybe 20 or 30 go bad--and that was when I reused a jar without washing it. Repackage them well, and they'll last at least several months.SOFT OLIVES?Some of the olives are firm, some are soft---that's simply the nature of a true mix. Most Americans (like myself), raised on pimento-stuffed queen olives think that they don't like soft olives. Indeed, mushy queen olives are yucky (because they've started rotting). However, some types of olives are meant to be soft, and are best soft. It is an acquired taste, worth acquiring. The mix includes a large variety of olives, both firm and soft. It is said that the key to oriental cuisine is variety---a variety of colors, textures, and flavors. The same is true of an olive mix meant for snacking or as the basis of a light meal.RECOMMENDATIONS> I also recommend the unpitted version Byzantine Country Olives, 5 Pound, which have a fuller nuttier flavor> I also recommend the "antipasto mix" which has a great flavor Byzantine Pitted Olive Mix, Antipasto, 2 CountOTHER SUGGESTIONS> A half-can of chick-peas, a diced tomato, a half-cup of these mixed olives, all mixed together with a little olive oil is a wonderful, tasty, health, lunch.> There is a whole world of olives out their worth exploring. As just example, Grabers Ripe Green Olives are more different from stuffed queen olives than you can imagine, but are marvelous. Mild and nutty. Graber Olives Size 14 7.5 oz. Can> Click on “Stoney” just below the product title to see my other reviews, or leave a comment to ask a question.

I subscribe to this product. Been getting it for years. Love it.

I keep olives on hand for snacks and for suppers of cheese, crackers, olives, and hot chocolate. I’ve tried other blends but keep coming back to these. I transfer them to a gallon jar for the fridge. They keep well but don’t last long in our house, because they are a favorite snack. Will continue to buy these.

Good. Great for the price, but for taste I will say these are "good." Actually rating, 4.5 with the rating rounded down.Definitely a generic quality to them, which one would expect for this price point, I suppose. Great for snacking. Great for processing into tapanade by adding sundried tomatoes, garlic, capers, spices, etc. But let's be honest, the brine is these is the same for all the olives, so the mix really has no different flavors -- the kalamata tastes like the ionian, the ionian tastes like the amfissa, etc., with the primary differences being visual and texture. Unless you're playing close attention, then underneath the brine, you get very subtle differences of the fruit. But most of that is lost in the brine, which is a "good" brine.All of that is fine, for the price. But the "generic" quality of the product doesn't seem to have been noted by any other reviewer. Also, the brine is a pretty "generic" brine, not offensive, but I can't say when I first tasted these I was wowed. "Good," I thought. Nothing exciting, except that there were a lot of good olives for a good price.Most of the olives are green in the batch I received, which shows as much in the picture, but the product description lists "kalamata" as the first olive, so be aware that kalamata isn't the main olive, much as the picture shows (I failed to make this connection, which is also fine, as I simply love olives, and green are great).Yes, some of the olives are softer than others, that's the nature of the olive. Green, of course, will be much more firm. The smaller, ripened ones will be softer. But they all taste the same in this mix anyway, so there's really only a visual and palate variation, which is easily solved by using the different olives for different things. Stuffing the green olives with nuts or cheese or garlic, using the softer olives processed into tapanade on bread or crackers, etc.This is a great bulk purchase for home use and I don't regret it. On arrival, I quickly opened, processed too many, threw them into a homemade hummus that needed some ooopmh, and it transformed the hummus into complete olive yum. I will be breaking up into smaller jars and trying different seasonings with evoo poured on top (garlic being the first choice, and maybe some red pepper flakes in another).In short, this is a great GENERIC type olive product at a great Amazon "Subscribe and Save" price.I simply knocked off a star because there is NO difference in flavor -- so little that's its negligible -- between the olives, and no one has seemed to note that. An olive mix should have a few flavors running around, it seems to me. That works for good and bad, the brine is ubiquitous in the flavor infusion.Shipping was fine. Olives arrived in great shape, no leaking.Hearty recommendations for what they are, their price, and the ability to use them in many ways without busting the bank, though I will not use them in my more refined kitchen experiments, unless some of these homemade infusions make me really, really happy. And they may.I would say these are also perfect for large parties, etc., and I am certain everyone would eat and enjoy.Will satisfy an olive craving, no question.

best yet but solidfies in the fridge.