Olives update

I have just tasted one of my cracked green olives that I've been soaking in water for ten days, changing the water daily. It's still very bitter. They will probably need another week.

Yesterday I noticed that most olives in the neighborhood trees are turning red, so I picked almost three pounds. They are large, firm, beautiful fruits. I cut each olive with a sharp knife, prepared a brine, dissolving a little under 1 cup of plain salt in 10 cups of hot water, let the brine cool, and brined the olives. I'll check these in the end of November.

What am I going to do with all these olives when they are ready? Last year I ate olives with every meal, gave jars of olives in oil and olive tapenade to everyone who likes them, and still couln't use all of the 6 pounds that I made. This time it's 7 pounds. My half-size refrigerator won't hold them all. Is there a good way to preserve them?

Update 11/09/2009: Bought another 2 pounds of Sevillano olives at the Farmers Market yesterday; they were just too big and beautiful (or am I getting obsessed?). The recipe that the olive man gave me: Make two cuts in the sides of each olive, or cut the top and bottom off. Brine in a closed container with 1 cup of salt per gallon of water for two weeks; shake daily. Remove from brine, cover with cold water, change water daily for 10 days. Place in brine with spices, cover with a little olive oil, keep in a closed container - no refrigeration required. And yes, he confirmed that size doesn't matter.