Olive Picking Season is Here!
We have the good fortune to live in a house in Tucson that came with two "legacy" olive trees in the front yard. I refer to them as "legacy" trees because these two are the last remaining curbside olive trees in our community. When our development was built, olive trees were the builders' tree of choice for curbside, street trees in many neighborhoods. Over time, however, Tucson and many homeowners learned the error of their ways. People found that the spring flower bloom of these olive trees brought about pretty severe allergic reactions. Also, if the trees are not pruned regularly, they become quite wild, with limbs growing into power lines, and dangerous when they begin to obstruct lines of sight on busy streets and at traffic intersections. They also have a tendency to develop multiple trunks which makes them vulnerable to spliting in heavy wind storms. About 25 years ago, the city of Tucson banned the planting of olive trees and began removing them from streetscapes all across town.
If you aren't Italian or didn't grow up eating cured olives, you most likely won't appreciate having a yard littered with fallen olives that can quickly turn into a mess of squashed purple mush staining walkways, patio furniture, etc. On the other hand, if you love olives, like I do, or are just curious about discovering how wonderful home-cured olives can truly be, then you will share in my enthusiasm for this simple method of preparing cured olives.
Soon after moving to Tucson, while waiting for an oil change on my car, I came upon this quick and easy recipe in a back issue of Gourmet magazine quite by chance. Jim had been suggesting we try to cure our own olives ever since we first moved into the place. I had no idea how to cure olives and suspected it would be a huge production. CAUTION: Never, never, attempt to eat an olive directly from the tree. Jim made that mistake; only once. They are extremely bitter. That's probably why you won't find any birds or other wildlife feasting on olives.
When the olives ripen, they become plumb and darken from green to brown or black and begin to fall from the tree. You can place a cloth, like a sheet or large towel under the tree to catch those that fall naturally. If you can reach the bunches of ripe olives that are still in the tree, you can pluck them or shake them from their stems into a colander. Give them a good rinsing, drain and pat dry on a dish towel. Then, place them into a container - glass or plastic. Fill the container only half way with the olives. Fill the remaining space in the container with salt. Tightly seal the container with a lid. You can find Canning Salt in the baking aisle at most grocery stores or wherever canning supplies are sold. Keep the sealed container out of direct light, and remember to shake it each day. I keep my olive container on the kitchen counter in plane view so that I can be sure that the salt is not caking up as it absorbs moisture from the olives. If your salt becomes too heavy with moisture, just remove it and add fresh salt to your container of olives. You may have to rinse and pat dry your olives once again. After a few weeks, you should notice the olives beginning to dry out and the skins to develop wrinkles. Continue shaking and changing the salt until your olives are completely cured and dried. This process can take from 4 to 8 weeks.
Next, place the olives in a colander and rinse the remaining salt.
Place them on a clean towel and pat dry. Store your cured dried olives in canning jars in a bath of olive oil or a blend of oils of your choice. Add a clove of garlic, hot pepper, a touch of lemon juice or whatever herbs or spices you wish. I just add olive oil and a clove of garlic to each jar. When I am ready to eat them, I add other spices and herbs. Experiment until you find your own unique combination. Keep jarred olives in the refrigerator. Buon Appetito!
NOTE: Unfortunately for me, my olive trees have not produced their usual bountiful fall crop of olives this year. I am sure it is because of the hard freeze that most of Tucson experienced last winter. Luckily, I still have a few jars of olives from last fall's harvest. I look forward to the harvest of 2012.
If you aren't Italian or didn't grow up eating cured olives, you most likely won't appreciate having a yard littered with fallen olives that can quickly turn into a mess of squashed purple mush staining walkways, patio furniture, etc. On the other hand, if you love olives, like I do, or are just curious about discovering how wonderful home-cured olives can truly be, then you will share in my enthusiasm for this simple method of preparing cured olives.
Soon after moving to Tucson, while waiting for an oil change on my car, I came upon this quick and easy recipe in a back issue of Gourmet magazine quite by chance. Jim had been suggesting we try to cure our own olives ever since we first moved into the place. I had no idea how to cure olives and suspected it would be a huge production. CAUTION: Never, never, attempt to eat an olive directly from the tree. Jim made that mistake; only once. They are extremely bitter. That's probably why you won't find any birds or other wildlife feasting on olives.
When the olives ripen, they become plumb and darken from green to brown or black and begin to fall from the tree. You can place a cloth, like a sheet or large towel under the tree to catch those that fall naturally. If you can reach the bunches of ripe olives that are still in the tree, you can pluck them or shake them from their stems into a colander. Give them a good rinsing, drain and pat dry on a dish towel. Then, place them into a container - glass or plastic. Fill the container only half way with the olives. Fill the remaining space in the container with salt. Tightly seal the container with a lid. You can find Canning Salt in the baking aisle at most grocery stores or wherever canning supplies are sold. Keep the sealed container out of direct light, and remember to shake it each day. I keep my olive container on the kitchen counter in plane view so that I can be sure that the salt is not caking up as it absorbs moisture from the olives. If your salt becomes too heavy with moisture, just remove it and add fresh salt to your container of olives. You may have to rinse and pat dry your olives once again. After a few weeks, you should notice the olives beginning to dry out and the skins to develop wrinkles. Continue shaking and changing the salt until your olives are completely cured and dried. This process can take from 4 to 8 weeks.
Next, place the olives in a colander and rinse the remaining salt.
Place them on a clean towel and pat dry. Store your cured dried olives in canning jars in a bath of olive oil or a blend of oils of your choice. Add a clove of garlic, hot pepper, a touch of lemon juice or whatever herbs or spices you wish. I just add olive oil and a clove of garlic to each jar. When I am ready to eat them, I add other spices and herbs. Experiment until you find your own unique combination. Keep jarred olives in the refrigerator. Buon Appetito!
NOTE: Unfortunately for me, my olive trees have not produced their usual bountiful fall crop of olives this year. I am sure it is because of the hard freeze that most of Tucson experienced last winter. Luckily, I still have a few jars of olives from last fall's harvest. I look forward to the harvest of 2012.
I came across this post searching for info about Olives in Tucson. I'm curious if you are my neighbor! Do you live on Eastland Street? I ask this because a few doors down there is a house with two olive trees curbside. I can't imagine many olive trees exist curbside. Anyway, we just moved to Eastland into the house with the two gigantic pine trees. I think it is just 2-3 doors west of you.
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