Fruit Warehouse

Fruit Warehouse | Olive ( Olea europaea ) | The olive tree, Olea Europaea, has been cultivated for olive oil, fine wood, olive leaf, and the olive fruit. Considerable research supports the health-giving benefits of consuming olives, olive leaf and olive oil (see external links below for research results). Olive leaves are used in medicinal teas. Olives are now being looked at for use as a renewable energy source, using waste produced from the olive plants as an energy source That Produces 2.5 times the energy generated by burning the same amount of wood.


The word 'oil' in multiple languages Ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit. The olive tree, Olea Europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. The fruit is a small drupe 1-2.5 centimetres (0.39-0.98 in) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) That turn them black artificially.


Olives are harvested in the autumn and winter. Blond olives are picked from the middle of October to the end of November and black olives are collected from the middle of November to the end of January or early February.  Most olives today are harvested by shaking the boughs or the whole tree. Using olives found lying on the ground can result in poor quality oil.


Olives are a naturally bitter fruit That Is Typically subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to make it more palatable. Green olives and black olives are washed thoroughly in water Typically to remove oleuropein, a bitter carbohydrate. Green olives are allowed to Ferment before being packed in a brine solution. American black ("California") olives are not fermented, the which is why They taste milder than green olives.


Freshly picked olive fruit is not palatable Because It contains phenolic compounds and oleuropein, a glycoside the which makes the fruit too bitter, although not unhealthy. (One exception is the throubes olive, the which can be eaten fresh.) There are many ways of processing olives for eating. Traditional methods use the natural microflora on the fruit and procedures for the which select flora Those That Ferment the fruit.


Often fresh olives are sold at markets. Olives can be used green, green RIPE (a yellower shade of green, or green with hints of color), through to full purple black ripeness. Olives should be selected for general good condition and for firmness if green. For fermentation, the olives are Soaked in water to wash, then drained. Deeply slit each olive is with a small knife; large fruit (eg, 60 fruit per kg) should be slit in multiple places.


After some weeks, the salinity drops from 10% to around 5 to 6%, once the water in the olives moves into solution and the salt moves into the olives. Curing can be done by Several methods: lye-cured, salt-curing, brine curing and fresh-water-curing. Salt-curing (also known as dry-curing) involves packing the olives in plain salt for at least a month, the which Produces a salty and wrinkled olive.


Brine-curing involves placing the olives in a salt water solution for a few days or more. Fresh-water curing involves soaking the olives in a succession of baths, of the which the water is changed daily. Green olives are usually firmer than black olives. Flavourings are popular herbs, spices, olive oil, feta, Pimento, chili, lemon Zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, wine, vinegar, juniper berries, almonds, and anchovies. Sometimes, the olives are lightly cracked with a hammer or a stone to trigger fermentation.