How Quality Table Olives Are Produced
The Mediterranean Diet has caught the attention of many as increasing research on the antioxidant properties of olive oil, suggest that it can prevent many illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and even diabetes.
Main features of this diet are table olives which are added to many dishes or taken as appetizers.
Eaten as fruits Olives are members of the fruit family and are normally eaten as: * green, which are slightly under-ripe; and * black, which are ripe.
Unlike most fruits, olives cannot be eaten straight from the tree and must be washed and brined properly before they can be served.
Harvest and production Spain is the largest producer of table olives which you can find in delis and food shops.
But most of the Spanish fruit is treated with lye or sodium hydroxide, a toxic substance which can be lethal if consumed in large quantities.
Other countries like Australia avoid using lye on their harvested fruit, making these healthier to consume.
Mostly grown in Southern Australia and Queensland, they are harvested towards the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.
The mature olives are carefully hand-picked to avoid bruising.
Each must pass a squeeze test to determine its maturity.
Using the forefinger and thumb, the fruit is squeezed to see if it expresses some liquid at the stem end.
It will also undergo a second and more difficult test which involves cutting around the olive and twisting it in half to check if it breaks apart easily with a free stone effect.
If it does, then it is considered mature.
Water treatment The hand-picked fruit are then washed and transferred into a picking container to remove the bitter principles or 'debittering'.
This is done by a meticulous process of brining and changing of the water for months.
After brining they must also be kept in cool temperatures between 15 to 25 degrees C.
(or 59 to 77 deg F).
Similar water treatment processes are applied on cracked green, black and Kalamata olives.
The cracked ones are also known as 'pitted' which are often then stuffed with spices like garlic and pimiento for added flavour.
The Kalamatas, are sometimes seasoned with vinegar after brining to increase acidity and add flavour.
This long process should still give you quality table olives that are crisp, neither woody nor soft, when eaten.
Main features of this diet are table olives which are added to many dishes or taken as appetizers.
Eaten as fruits Olives are members of the fruit family and are normally eaten as: * green, which are slightly under-ripe; and * black, which are ripe.
Unlike most fruits, olives cannot be eaten straight from the tree and must be washed and brined properly before they can be served.
Harvest and production Spain is the largest producer of table olives which you can find in delis and food shops.
But most of the Spanish fruit is treated with lye or sodium hydroxide, a toxic substance which can be lethal if consumed in large quantities.
Other countries like Australia avoid using lye on their harvested fruit, making these healthier to consume.
Mostly grown in Southern Australia and Queensland, they are harvested towards the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.
The mature olives are carefully hand-picked to avoid bruising.
Each must pass a squeeze test to determine its maturity.
Using the forefinger and thumb, the fruit is squeezed to see if it expresses some liquid at the stem end.
It will also undergo a second and more difficult test which involves cutting around the olive and twisting it in half to check if it breaks apart easily with a free stone effect.
If it does, then it is considered mature.
Water treatment The hand-picked fruit are then washed and transferred into a picking container to remove the bitter principles or 'debittering'.
This is done by a meticulous process of brining and changing of the water for months.
After brining they must also be kept in cool temperatures between 15 to 25 degrees C.
(or 59 to 77 deg F).
Similar water treatment processes are applied on cracked green, black and Kalamata olives.
The cracked ones are also known as 'pitted' which are often then stuffed with spices like garlic and pimiento for added flavour.
The Kalamatas, are sometimes seasoned with vinegar after brining to increase acidity and add flavour.
This long process should still give you quality table olives that are crisp, neither woody nor soft, when eaten.
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