Sep 09 2008
Olives, Olives everywhere and not a one I can pick!
Here in sunny California, it is the start of olive season. The fruit is on the tree and ripening more every day. Now is around the time you want to be harvesting your green olives, if you haven’t already. Unfortunately for me, my neighbors 8 olive trees have all been attacked by fruit flies. This means no fresh olives for me unless I order them on line or buy them at a market (which most won’t carry due to the low interest in such a product). That sucks, I really enjoyed brining my own last year, and was looking forward to doing it again this year. The process is time consuming but well worth the effort. You will have one of the most unique Christmas gifts for your friends, and be the talk of your circle, for years to come.
The process is simple and straight forward. You take the raw fruit and soak it in a salt water solution (changing the liquid every two days or so) for 6 to 8 weeks, until all the bitterness has been drawn out , then put it into its final “flavor brine” to finish the process. Yes it does take time but in small batches it is very manageable. For an Olive lover like myself, there is no cooler gift than home cured olives. Here is one site I have found and used in the past for this very thing! curing my own
I hope you find this fun and as exciting as I do. I really like doing things myself just to see what goes into it and how hard it is. I find it makes it easier to pay for it at the market when I know the process that had to be followed to get it on the shelf!
Once you are comfortable with the Basics have fun with it. Add chile’s, spices, herbs or try using different vinegars to finish the process. What about Chocolate? I haven’t tried it myself but I do know salty and sweet go well together. The addition of Bitter coco could give you a nice end result . Just remember the initial curing process should always remain the same. You first have to pull the natural bitterness out of the raw fruit, only then will your end result be worth it!
Stumble It!
Hey, I just bought a house last year (in southern CA) with 10 olive trees. I have lots of olives. How do I know when to pick them. Some are already black and lots are green.
When do you know when to pick the olives?
When do you know when to pick the olives. I live in CA with 13 olive trees. This is our first season in this house.
Well You are A lucky person! If you want to Have green olives Pick them now! Be sure to go through them well and discard any that are damaged in any way. And check for fruit fly larvae by cutting into any with black pin holes on them, If you find any you will really have to look over them with good eye . If the skin is perfect you are good to go.
Now for the black ones you can leave them on the tree for a bit longer just keep a close eye on them. They will go from perfect to no good very quickly. Just watch for the color to become uniform and the meat to soften just slightly. Cut a few open and look at the meat to see if the color has gone all the way to the pit. You should really do most of your harvesting as quickly as you can, They won’t last long after they have been picked so you really need to get the first brine going. If it is going to take a few days just wash them well and dry them even better and refrigerate them until you are ready. I would suggest trying a batch of both. once you have them harvested, the rest is really down hill.
I would also have a “picking Party” invite some friends give them each a bucket, a beer and a tree! It makes the time go much quicker. The bast part of that is you will have them all pumped up for Christmas. Just remember who all came so you make sure you don’t forget them when the time comes!
Please keep me updated on your progress, I am a little green(with envy) right now!
Thanks ,and have fun
James
Why do markets not stock fresh olives?
I could do without olives - I don’t hate them the way I do capsicum, but they do nothing for me.
Markets won’t stock “fresh” olives due to the fact they are not edible! Olives have to be processed in some way, and very few people know how or care to to this. I don’t blame them, I just wish it were different.