This Is How You Should Really Be Storing Olives

Olives are a beloved Mediterranean staple that can bring a salty bite to nearly any dish. Olives aren't limited to martinis, and Olive Magazine agrees. From tapenade to puttanesca, olives can be enjoyed as a snack or in a flavorful main course. If you're looking for a fellow olive addict, you'll likely find them at their favorite hangout spot — the grocery store's antipasti bar. Snagging olives in bulk offers some options when it comes to variety as well as quantity, but it's easy to overdo it. Our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs, after all.

Whether you've "accidentally" cleaned up the olive bar or have a pantry full of cans you'd like to use up, how you store your olives will have a direct impact on the taste. The Spruce Eats shares that opened containers of olives, which includes those antipasti bar finds, will last between one and two months after they've been opened as long as they're refrigerated. That may sound pretty straightforward, but there are a few tricks to ensure these briny bites stay fresh.

Storing olives in the liquid they come in is key to keeping them crisp and delicious. Olive brands have clearly figured that out, considering regardless of the vessel you purchase, your olives will be sitting in the mysterious liquid, which is nearly as flavorful as the olives themselves. That liquid, also known as brine, is a combination of water, vinegar, and salt, says I Love Lindsay. As the olives bathe in the brine, the flavor of the fluid enriches and develops into a rich, savory marinade. Even once the olives are gone, hang onto that brine. It can be used in anything from pulled pork to waffles, according to The Kitchn. 

Another trick to keeping your olives as fresh as possible in the fridge is to store them in a non-metal container. Canned Food Alliance communications manager Katie Toulouse tells Epicurious that transferring your food out of the can before storing it in the fridge will help keep the taste at its prime. "If you're making chicken, you're not going to store it in the pan," she compares. As for the unopened olives still lingering in your cupboard, they will last up to two years as long as they're stored at room temperature.