Growing Olives

GROW YOUR OWN OLIVES

Olive trees are attractive, bear fruit and can withstand bitterly cold winters and dry summers. The olive is native to the Mediterranean, Africa and Eastern Europe. Home-grown olives require a long, hot growing season and a cool winter to ensure good fruit and growth, which is why New Zealand is now an established olive-growing region. Evergreen olive trees can grow quite large if left to their own devices, sometimes reaching more than 10 meters high. The small flowers, once pollinated, give way to small drupe fruit that are oval, green and hard. They generally turn a shade of purple or black when fully ripe. What is distinctive about olive trees is that they can have ‘on’ or ‘off’ years, sometimes spending more energy in a growing season regenerating new wood than bearing an abundance of fruit. Don’t despair, because they aren't that complicated to grow. Olive trees are survivors. The olive fruit is bitter and unpalatable in its ripe but raw state. Each olive will need some kind of processing by bribing, pickling or squashing to make it palatable to humans.

Can Olives Be Grown In Pots

• Yes, but they require more attention and care than trees planted in the ground. Most people use a pot that is too small and do not water sufficiently. 
• To keep any tree in a pot for long requires a really big pot. Olive trees can make fruit while growing in pots, but keep in mind that if your olive tree does not put on new growth, you will have little or no fruit the following year. 
• Your olive tree will continue to need light and water if you bring in indoors for the winter; a bright, cool spot out of heater drafts is preferred.

Harvesting And Storage

• Harvest olives in the late summer and autumn months. Green olives are picked while they are still green but have reached full size. 
• When the green olives start to turn purple they can be picked for pickling. 
• They can also be picked for processing at any later stage right up to full ripeness (dark purple). 
• The most common way to harvest is to place a tarpaulin under the mature trees and shake the tree. Avoid taking olives that have fallen to the ground without matting – they will be bruised.

Cooking With Olives

• Olives ripen from green to black and can be preserved at either stage. 
• Green olives are usually pickled with white wine, Vinegar and salt whereas black olives are more often pressed for oil or cured in brine. 
• Olives that have been cured in a water solution can be used for cooking straight away and don’t need marinating. 

How To Pickle Olives

• Prick the outside of the fruit with a fork. Place them in a large plastic bucket. 
• For every 2.5 liters of water used to submerge the olives, you will need about 120g coarse salt. 
• Every day, for 12–14 days, pour out the water and refresh with new salted water until the olives start to taste less bitter and begin to soften in texture. 
• When this stage is reached, measure the water poured off the olives. In a large pot, place the olives and the equivalent amount of water with 250g of salt for every 2.5 liters of water. Bring to the boil and then allow to cool. 
• Place olives in sterilized preserving jars and then pour the cooled salty brine over them. You can add teaspoonful of Cumin powder and coriander powder for a pickled taste. Seal the jars with 1 cm of olive oil. 
• The olives will keep for a year this way. If they are too salty before eating, drain off the brine, refill the jar with cold water and soak the olives. 
• Keep soaking them in clean water for around 2 weeks until the desirable taste is reached.

Olive Oil Benefits And Fun Facts

• The olive is made up of 18 to 28 percent oil
• Approximately 75 percent of that oil is heart healthy monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)
• Olive oil facilitates overall digestion and absorption of nutrients, including crucial fat-soluble vitamins (one of the reasons fat free salad dressings are really doing your body a disservice)
• Olive oil is naturally cholesterol-, sodium- and carbohydrate-free
• While most people think deep green olive oil indicates a higher quality, color is not a factor. Greener oils comes from green olives (black olives yield pale oil)
• Despite common beliefs, olive oil’s smoke point (410 degrees Fahrenheit) is high enough to withstand stir-frying. Regular olive oil, not extra virgin, is best for frying thanks to its high oleic acid (a MUFA) content.
• Blood Pressure: Recent studies indicate that regular consumption of olive oil can help decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 
• Diabetes: It has been demonstrated that a diet that is rich in olive oil, low in saturated fats, moderately rich in carbohydrates and soluble fiber from fruit, vegetables, pulses and grains is the most effective approach for diabetics. It helps lower “bad” low-density lipoproteins while improving blood sugar control and enhances insulin sensitivity.
•  Obesity: Although high in calories, olive oil has shown to help reduce levels of obesity. 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: Although the reasons are still not fully clear, recent studies have proved that people with diets containing high levels of olive oil are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.

Benefits Of Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil On The Face

Exfoliating Skin

• Mix extra virgin olive oil and sea salt together to make a natural exfoliant for your face, especially if you're suffering from scaly, dry skin. 
• Massage this exfoliator into the areas of your face affected by dryness and scaliness. 
• It works to get rid of the old, dry skin, revealing new, younger skin underneath.

Glowing Skin

• Massage olive oil into your facial skin. Scrub with 1 tbsp sugar. 
• Dip a wash cloth in steaming water. Drip out excessive water, and place this steam containing towel on your face. 
• Let it be till it becomes cold, wipe off your face with the same. 
• A mixture of 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup water used as a night cream will make your skin glow. 
• The olive oil softens and moisturizes and the vinegar lightens discolorations, kills bacteria and loosens dead skin cells. Splash water on your face before applying.