Tuesday 22 October 2019

Olives

We saw the first olives of this season being picked on our way out of town last week.  The olives on the island though are not quite ready.  Everyone, ie our neighbours, are waiting till the end of the month or even mid November so the crop has a chance to plump up a bit, hopefully producing more oil.  We had some very heavy rain last month which will improve the quality of the oil and the amount each olive produces



 The first olives for eating were dropped  on our table in the cafe 2 weeks ago, just a handful.  K was very pleased

These are the first black olives, and came from a plot of olives which are watered all year long and are early producers.  They are given a bash with a hammer or the back of the hand, mixed with  coarse salt and are eaten the next day.  They're a delicacy, first of the season.  

Olives usually need to be soaked in water for days on end to get rid of the bitterness but these early olives are edible immediately.  Even I tried them and liked them.

They don't last long, a week at the most


This years crop has a worm problem and many of the olives have already fallen.  The worm burrows inside and eats just below the stalk so the olive falls from the tree.  In some areas the problem has almost ruined the harvest.  Here many olives have fallen but the trees still have plenty of fruit to be picked

Next door Vaso and her daughter are mending the nets which will be spread out under the trees.  They were already cleaned at the end of last season but rocks and thistles tear holes in the material.  These have to be patched so the olives don't fall through. 

It's one helluva difficult task for these woman. Vaso is in her eighties and her daughter is a retired school teacher.  They sit there on the ground in the yard for a week with these huge nets spread around them sewing up the holes.   

The neighbourhood is preparing.  Soon there will be nets everywhere, even across our roads as branches are raked for their olives.  I hope the weather stays dry and warm for a few more weeks.  It's a hard dirty job and icy winds and wet trees make it worse.  

That golden oil at the end of it is always worth the trouble.  Family members travel back to their villages to collect olives from their land, lawyers, doctors and office workers, they all want that extra virgin olive oil which to them is the best in the world.




12 comments:

  1. How wonderful of Vaso and her daughter, to do this.... Mend the nets... Continue old traditions...

    Suppose all the nets have to be repaired, but it seems more wonderful, that these two not-young women, still do it.

    I'm sure the olives and their oil, are delicious.

    People come home to their villages, to get this oil. Another lovely old tradition.

    🎵 🙌 😀

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    1. There is really no way to get round the hard grind. The thinking here is 'if you've got your own olive trees then you've got pick the olives'.
      They all want their own oil, consider it to be the top oil.

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  2. I use olive oil for everything, for cooking and seasoning, but unfortunately not from my tree which is also full of olives now, one of the neighbors will come and pick them soon.

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    Replies
    1. At least someone is picking them. I presume they give you some of the oil.

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  3. Lovely traditions and I am sure the oil will be wonderful

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    Replies
    1. The oil is always ultra virgin. We are lucky to be given a few bottles of the first press by friends

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  4. Once the older generation goes. I wonder if they next will continue that hot hard work.
    I hope so. Maybe I should go “home” and give the realities a hand
    It’s a thought lol

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    1. Teams of Indian and Pakistani workers are taking over a lot of the picking but the family is always there to supervise. The younger generation no longer turns up in numbers needed but they still want the oil!

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  5. That’s relatives omg. Lol

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    Replies
    1. Those replies would love another hand to pick!!! Negotiate beforehand for the oil lol

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  6. The anticipation all sounds very similar to the Chestnut harvest here; even down to the nets. At a nearby village's recent Chestnut Fair there was a Portuguese man selling his own Olive Oil in large plastic containers. It wasn't cheap, but he'd come a long way. I hope the journey was worth his while, he didn't seem to have many buyers. We use a lot of Olive Oil, and I loved to buy fresh unfiltered 'green' oil, but I haven't seen any for ages.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like here, everyone prefers the local oil, the closer to home the better.
      The green oil will be out at the market, probably this week. Vaso usually gives us a bottle. K loves it but the kids don't like the strong taste.
      Pity you can't get it there.

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