Olives are a delicious food, and they are something that you can add to many dishes. They also make a great snack. This is why it can be tempting to figure out how to make your olives last for longer in storage.
Thankfully, if you love olives, you can easily dehydrate them to keep them fresh for a longer period of time.
Dehydrating olives is very easy, and then you can store them reliably with your vacuum sealer. Using these two processes in combination can keep olives fresh and ready to eat for years at a time.
Table of Contents
How to Dehydrate Olives
In most cases, you can dehydrate about 2-3 cups of olives in one batch. The size of your dehydrator will impact how many you can prepare at once.
You should be sure to check on the capacity of your dehydrator to ensure that you will be able to dehydrate the entire batch that you have in mind.
You can work with fresh olives of any variety, and even canned olives can be dehydrated with ease. Just make sure that whatever olive variety you are using for the process does not have pits in them.
Pits will not work out for the dehydrating process, and you will want to remove the pits before consumption in any case.
Always be sure that you are using the right preparation process to get your fresh olives ready to dehydrate. You will need to remove the pits and then drop them into boiling water for 3 minutes.
Drain and rinse the olives after boiling them. It is recommended that you also brine the olives you want to store in salt brine for about three days.
Salt brine can be made with 1 gallon of water and 2 cups of sea salt. Let the olives remain in the brine for about three days before rinsing them and allowing them to dry. You might need to pat them with a towel to remove all remaining moisture before you put them into the dehydrator.
Spread whole olives or sliced olives on the trays of your dehydrator. Make sure that the layers are even and that you have spread the olives evenly across the entire tray. Set your dehydrator to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. You will want to plan for your olives to dry for eight to ten hours.
You cannot over-dry your olives, but you should still check on them to make sure that they are dehydrating evenly and that they look like they are not curling up at the edges. You can also dehydrate olives in the oven on baking pans with Silpat sheets lining them.
If using the oven, you will need to dry them for about three to five hours. You can burn olives in the oven, so check on your dehydration process frequently if you are not using a dehydrator for the job.
When dehydrating olives in the oven, you will want to make sure you stop dehydrating them when you see a slight browning of the edges of the olives. Going any further can lead to dry and burned-tasting olives that are not good for storage.
How to Store Dehydrated Olives
As mentioned before, you will now need to have a good option to store your dehydrated olives. A vacuum sealer can offer you access to a really effective means of storing your dehydrated olives for the long haul.
Make sure that you don’t overstuff your vacuum sealing bags as you store your olives. This can cause the seals to fail.
Once you have split up your dehydrated olives into batches, make sure that they are spread out smoothly in the vacuum sealed bags. You will then want to seal them up and mark the date on each bag.
You can keep your dehydrated olives at room temperature, but you should be sure to keep them away from heat and sunshine in their storage location. You could also opt to place them in the freezer, but this step is not required.
Your vacuum sealed olives should keep for a few years at least. You can use these olives to snack on, to add to recipes, or even to dress salads. You might also want to use them to make dips sauces, or spreads.
Make sure that you are always checking on the dates of your sealed lives so that you are using the oldest bags first. This will also help avoid possible issues related to the rare instance that a vacuum sealing bag decides not to maintain its seal.
You can also elect to rehydrate your olives just by soaking them in warm water. This is a great option if you want that olive texture again without worrying about keeping fresh olives around at all times.
Paste from olives can also be rehydrated in the same way. Make sure that you allow a little extra time for the olives to plump back up, and then you can use them just as you would fresh olives that you just purchased or just got out of the can.
Olives Can be Stored Reliably Using the Dehydrator Method
If you have been frustrated with wasting olives that you have stored for too long or you are tired of having to prepare olives each time you want to eat them, use this method of preservation.
Dehydrating olives can keep them fresh and delicious for years at a time. There are many foods that can be preserved using the dehydration method described in this article.
Preventing food waste has never been easier when you know how to dehydrate and vacuum seal your favorite foods. If you love to have fresh olives on hand but hate having to prepare or store them, dehydration is a great method to avoid all of that stress.
The tips and tricks in this guide will help you avoid food waste in your home through the use of a couple of simple food preservation tips and tricks.
I am Brianna, a self-published author with a passion for sharing my knowledge and expertise on various topics with people looking to find the perfect items for their needs. I love ensuring that the right informative content is available to people looking for the right information. I am an avid horseback rider and reader when I am not writing.
Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, or Personal Blog.