Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-11-23
HOW OLIVES ARE CURED.
Difficult Process. Requiring Time
and Constant Care.

and Constant Care.
lit should he remembered. said tlA..
olive man that the constitutions of AZ
olive Is as Il licate a. that IF tender
child From the time the crop Is gath
cred until il is finally Packed in the
bottles there is not a moment which i
not frauSht with the inteu~e>t anxiety
on the part of all who handle the fruit.
No other product requires such con
slant application of the old maxim of
eternal vigilance Us olives
The baiI begins with the SatkcriuE
Of the f1ait. THIS Is done in the late
summer or early autumn. while the
fruit i still green aud hard ausi alto
gethCr uaSa worry on account OF is in
tense bitterness. The olives are picked
by hand 10 prevent scratching and
bruisins and then conveyed III carts or
on pack mules To the curing establish
ment. Olive curing is a very delicate
and Intricate process. for which no
Il Sed rules can be laid down \ course
of treatment that in one instance
would prove successful might be abso-
lutely ruinous in another. The business
OF curing therefore calls for expert tai
ent and is always intrusted 10 a pro
fessional who brings TO his task his
own skill and knowledge. supplement-
ell by the experience of generations of
kinsfolk who We're curers in that par
ticular variety before him.
The first step in the process of cur
ing is known as cooking When the
fruit comes to the curing establish
ment, il is placed in large watts filled
with a mixture of lime and water in
which il undergoes kind of fermen-
tation. Cooking Is merely a technical
name for this fermentation process.
When the fermentation has reached
a certain stage. u matter requiring any
where from few hours to Il few days.
the curer gives the signal to withdraw
the plugs and the liquid is run off. The
olives are then thoroughly washed
with fresh water until they are bright
and clean and every trace of lime is re
moved. f you were 10 taste them now,
you would find that they had lost most
of their unpleasant bitterness.
after washing the fruit is put in
casks filed with brine and the casks
exposed. bungs open, to the sun. This
induces "A second fermentation. which
takes place more or less rapidly. ac-
cording 10 the weather. However, as
Spain enjoys fairly 0quable climate
period of from three To four weeks gen
orally suffices. Throughout this second
fermentation the olives keep throwing
off the brine. so that the casks must be
inspected daily and kept filed with
new brine of the required strength.
Finally there comes a time when
they no longer throw off any brine.
They are then ready for 'sorting'-that
is, for separation according to size and
quality. All that are perfect-of proper
color and free from scratches. spots
and other blemishes-are called select
ed;' the rest 'culls.' The various sizes
are known according to their weight,
5000 meaning olives that count eighty
TO ninety to the kilo.
after sorting the olives are then
put back into the casks, tie bungs
driven in. and the whole is ready for
shipment TO the American importer
DO you begin to pack as soon as they
arrive in New York; was the next
leading question.
NO. indeed, The long ocean voyage
affects olives as much as it does hui
man beings. They generally succumb
TO 'seasickness' en- route-that is, we
find them in some stage of fernenta-
ton on arrival. which requires our CON
slant care until they recover"
Doesn't this 'seasickness.' as you
call it, impair the quality in any way!
Not at all. 1t only makes the olive
man feel the burden of his response
bilities. In every stage of fermentation
there is a critical moment when he
must exercise the greatest care and
caution. If the olives recover, they are
really much improved in quality. II
they don't. they are hopelessly ruined
There is no intermediate condition.
Arco Special.