Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-12
FOOD VALUE OF OLIVES
DISCUSSED IN YEAR BOOK OF DE-
PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Two Products known In This COun-
try-Where the Fruit May He
Cultivated With Profit.

under the supervision of officers of that
department The report is, in part, as fol-
lows:
The olive tree is slowgrowing ever
green of great longevity and productive
ness In some of the older countries about
the Mediterranean trees hundreds of years
old and sometimes twenty feet or more in
circumference have been reported. When
grown naturally the tree attains a height
of forty feet or more and has somewhat
founded form. The leaves are small and
lancc-"t,aped, dun green above and silIery
beneath ard generally opposite The ftow-
ers arc small and white. with four-cieft
calyx and corolia The fruit is drupe,
usually oval or nearly g.obuIar.
The olive is 4 CCnipara.ivc!y recent fruit
In the United States, fer, willie it has been
grown in California since the time If the
early mission fathers. it is only within the
pas; twenty years that 1t has become of
commercial Importance. During this period
a market has been created for olive prod
acts and many facts have been learned re-
gardins cultural and manufacturing meth
DDS. Nevertheless, the ir:ustry. as
whole. is still in an unsatisfactory condi-
tion. owing largely to confusion in regard
to the selection Of proper sells and of right
met ilods of tillage, irrigation, pruning and
controlling insect pests. From the COM
mercial standpoint the conditions now tend
ing TO harm the Industry are competition
Win rOttonsciu Cli anu UtIiST CHS Soiu DIS
olive Gil, poor harvesting and manufacture
ing met hods and the selection of insult
able varieties. Al the present time u good
ani growing demand exists all over the
United States fer olive products. but the
market seems to be poorly organized. Ripe
pickles bring - cents per gallon in the
ma rket, while good, ripe olives for picking
sell in the orchard for from SO to $50 per
ton. A steady market exists also for stand
ard size 81 cen pickles. The station believes
hat no N
principally in the production of pickles, the
larger ones being used for this purpose and
the small size made into oil.
Where They Succeed Best.
Olives will not thrive in regions where
the temperature frequently falls below 20
degrees Fahrenheit. They succeed best
where the mean temperature of the coolest
month does not fall below 43 degrees Fair
enheit The tree has a deep, strong root
system which enables it to do we'll on
rather dry soils, but where the rainfall is
very light irrigation must be practiced.
Contrary to the usual belief that olives
will produce crops where other fruit trees
would not live, the soil requirements of
the olive are as great as those of any other
crop. 1t seems especially suited to sandy or
loan soils rich in lime and potash.
Two food products of considerable i'm
portance are made from olives, namely,
olive oil or salad oil and picked olives. A
is the dried olive, much eaten in Greece and
some other neighboring countries. All olive
oil and picked olives were formerly i'm
ported, most generally from southern Eu-
rope. In recent years California has de-
veloped olive growing. and the industry has
now assumed considerable Importance.
The California station has done much to
foster it. The methods of extracting oil
and picking the fruit are described in a re-
cent bulletin of the station, which also
ports numbers of analyses of fresh and
picked olives
Form and Shade.
The ripe olive fruit is not unlike an oval
damson plum in form and size. In color it
ranges from various shades of purple to al
most black. 1t has a sour and persistent
bitter flavor. Samples of many different
varieties analyzed at the station varied
greatly In size, ranging from less than 100
to over 400 to the pound. the majority, how
ever, ranging from $50 to $50 to the pound.
The pit constitutes about 90 per cent of the
Whcle fruit, but here there is also consd-
cradle range. Both pulp and pit contain oil
The amount of oil in the pulp in different
samples analysed ranged from II to about
IS per cent; that in the pit from Q. SO to %
per cent. 1t is stated that these analy ses
were made of fruit grown In an unfavorable
year.
picking the olive should be carefully gath
cred. The ripe fruit is used for oil making
and for picking, the exact stage when it
is best suited for this purpose being a mat
ter which must be learned by experience.
The green fruit is also used for picking
and should be gathered when full grown
and just before 1t begins to color and
soften The picked olives usually found
in the American market are made from the
green fruit. The picked ripe olives are also
met with and may be recognized by their
dark color.
The best oil is made by crushing the
q nj ka1 Oh oil
the extraction of the oil the olives are often
partially dried before crushing. Old fash
ioned stone mills commonly used to
crush the fruit, although bronze crushers
are being tried with good results The
ground mass is pressed to extract the juice
which contains watery plant juices in addi-
ton to the oil and more or less pulpy mat
ter. Various devices are used to separate
the oil and 20 purify 1t. 1t is said that the
best oil is obtained by allowing the pulp.
etc, to settle. and decanting the clear oil
II generally takes about one month for oil
to settle the first time. Three rackings are
usually sufficient. The Oil thus obtained Is
almost as bright can be produced by the
most effective filtration, and it has. besides
the distinctive olive flavor and lacks the
greasiness which is characteristic of all
filtered oils. Great cleanliness must be OBJ
served in Oil making and every precaut!cn
taken to avoid rancidity.
Removing Unplensant Flavor.
Essentially lne same process Is followed
in making pickles from ripe and green
olives The unpleasant acid and bitter fla
vor Is removed by soaking the fruit in a
solution Of potash I've for short time or
by a longer soaking in water In addition
to removing the unpleasant flavor the I've
softens the skin Of the fruit, SO that the
undesirable substance may be more readily
extracted by water Olives treated with I've
must be soaked in clear water, which is
frequently changed, to remove the potash
They are then placed in weak brine for
short time and afterward in stronger brines
The details of each step of the process vary
considerably. and much depends upon skill
and experience. An abundant supply of
pure water is of the first Importance, and
great care must be exercised to prevent
the growth of molds, etc. AS in the manu-
facture of Oil, cleanliness is a prime requi-
site.
The uses OF olive oil and olives as arti-
cies of diet familiar. The former is
used chiefly for dressing salads and for fry
ing, the latter as a RELISH for seasoning
sauces, etc. and for garnishing various
foods. The oil, like all fats, has high
fuel value. and on this its value as food
depends. The California station insists that
the picked ripe olives are more than a rel
ish that they really possess considerable
food value, much more than the picked
green fruit. This statement Is borne out by
their composition determined by analysis.