The Topeka state journal., 1899-07-04
OLIVES AND THEIR HOMES.
From what to Eat-)


Everyone knows there is such an article
as olives. most everybody has el1ten them,
but few are aware of their nature, prop
critics and characteristics, to say moth
ing of their origin, home, cultivation, prep
The original home Of the olive tree was
in Syria and Palestine thence IL was car
time of Homer, who makes mention OF
olive is lost in antiquity. but there is little
doubt that il is many centuries older than
sshe olive tree is a small one. generally
from one 10 three feet in diameter and Is
found which have attained larger proper
tions, but these are exceptional
Italy is the most prolific country at the
present time in the production Of olives.
France and Spain being second in the
order named Olives are also produced in
ed in California By the Spanish mission
day Mission olives are considered the
The value of the olive as a relish IS OF
considerable Importance, but its oil IS or
As I have said, there are many varieties
Of olives. but only q few are prontably
cultivated The small Italian kind. cres-
cent in shape, is the most abundant and
is used almost entirely for the extraction
1t is only when we come to the south Of
Spain that We find an entirely different
ing but an improved variety OF the early
Roman olive
At any rate, the so-caIled Queen olive,
or as the Spaniards call 1t, Gordal,
grows only in the province of Seville.
within a radius of little more than 100
The SeviIians, when they began to pre-
aware that they had found the best pro-
cess for curing them, and they called the
fruit thus treated .'Aceitunas en- reina.
olives cured in queen style or process. in
other words and using an English slang
phrase, olives cured TO the queens taste
Many experiments have been made in
ish seeds and Shoots have been planted
within the past fifty years for the propa-
Lempts nave thus Tar proved unsuccess-
full I will leave to uaturalists and hOrti-
nomenon but the fact remains That all
the Queen olives sold in this country are
grown and cured in Spain
California has made great strides in the
cultivation of the olive In 1897 there
of which only $4,000 were bearing fruit
With the exception of few thousand
gallons which cured in ripe state
Tor table use, the entire crop IS used Tor
the extraction of the oil
Il is claimed, however. that no profits
have been made in olive raising, except
in the old Mission variety. and farmers
in the southern counties are said to be
planting other fruit trees in their place.
This is certainly a calamity. as it was
hoped that the California olive would
finally. to large extent, if not altogether,
supRIant the foreign product
The perfect Queen olive will keep in fine
condition for two or three years, if kept
IN its original brine, and from one to two
years when bottled and preserved in new
brine It comes to this country in casks
or hogsheads, containing from $50 to 200
The United States is the largest con
sumer of cured olives, having imported on
an average 5000 to 5000 hogsheads per
year. The crop of 1897 was a small one.
and consequently prices have advanced
very recently which is much to be regret
ted il viii check to some extent ana
for the time being the increase in con-
sumption
Now. as to the. quality of the perfect
olive and how to distinguish the fine from
the common and poor kind
am afraid cannot fmpart to you my
knowledge in this respect. but if an in
adequate descrip ptiOn viii serve I will de-
scribe the quality of a perfect Spanish
Queen olive
1t should be Of a yeIIowish green color;
the meat should be somewhat hard, but
not too much 50, When bitten. the
stone visible, which should be the color of
a baby's pinkish skin. Do not eat olives
that are soft and mushy, that do not
smell perfectly sweet or that show a
purplish or dark stone
Olives should not be washed or rfused
IN water under any consideration. as it
destroys the favor almost entirely. They
should be served with a small quantity Of
the brine in which they are preserved. and
the dish should be shaken every now and
then SO that the olives will be kept more
or less wet all the time II an olive re-
mains on a plate without any brine. it
dries up quickly and its original favor
disappears to some extent.