The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-03-21
HOW OLIVES ARE CURED.
A Difficult Process That Requires
Many Weeks to Bring to COM
pletiOn.

SIT should be remembered" said
the olive man, according to the Arcc
Special, that the constitution of an
olive is as delicate ifs that of a ten
der child. From the time the crop is
gathered until it is finally packed in
bottles, there is not moment which
is not fraught with the intensest
anxiety on the part of all who handle
the fruit No other product requires
such constant application of the old
maxim of eternal vigilance as olives.
''The ball begins with the gather
ing of the fruit. This is done in the
late summer or early autumn, while
the fruit is still green and hard, and
altogether unsavory on account of its
intense bitterness. The olives are
picked by hand to prevent scratching
and bruising, and then conveyed in
carts or on pack mules to the curing
establishment. Olive curing is a very
delicate and intricate process, for
which no fixed rules can be laid down.
A course of treatment that in one in
, stance would prove successful might
! be absolutely ruinous in another.
The business of curing, therefore,
calls for expert talent, and is always
intrusted to a professional who
brings to his task his own skill and
/ knowledge, supplemented by the ex-
perience of generations of kinsfolk
who were curers in that particular
variety before him.
'The first step in the process OF
curing is known as cooking When
the fruit comes to the curing estab-
lishment it is placed in a large vat
filled with a mixture of lime and wa.
ter, in which it undergoes kind of
| fermentation. Cooking is merely a
technical name for this fermentation
process.
''When the fermentation has
reached certain stage-a matter re-
quiring anywhere from a few hours
to few days-the curer gives the sig.
nal 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 removed, If
! you were to taste them now you
would find that they had lost most of
their unpleasant bitterness.
after washing, the fruit is put in
casks filled with brine. and the casks
exposed. bungs open, to the sun. This
induces second fermentation, which
takes place more or less rapidly, ac-
cording to the weather. However, as
Spain enjoys a fairly equable climate,
period of from three to four weeks
| generally suffices. Throughout this
| second fermentation the olives keep
throwing off the brine, so that the
casks must be inspected daily and kept
| filled with new brine of the required
| strength.
Finally there comes 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 'selected;' the rest 'culls.'
The various sizes are known according
| to their weight, 5000 meaning olives
that count so to 80 to the kilo.
after sorting the olives are then
put back into the casks, the 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.
mo, 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 fermenta-
ton on arrival. which requires our
constant 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 fermenta-
ton there is 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."