“OLIVES are the fruits of trees, which grow wild in the warmer
parts of Europe; we have them in some of our gardens; but with us
they will not ripen to any perfection.
There are three kinds, the Italian, Spanish, and French; we have
them therefore of various sizes and flavors; some prefer one, and
some the other.
The fine sallad oil, as has been before mentioned, is made from
this fruit, for which purpose they are gathered ripe; but for
pickling they are gathered when half-ripe, at the latter end of
June: they are put into fresh water to soak for two days; after
this they throw them into lime-water in which some pearl-ashes have
been dissolved: they lie in this liquor six-and-thirty hours; then
they are thrown into water which has had bay-salt dissolved in it:
this is the last preparation, and they are sent over to us in this
liquor: they are naturally as they grow on the tree very bitter,
and therefore require all these preparations to bring them to their
fine flavor. To some olives they add a small quantity of essence of
spices, which is an oil drawn from cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon,
coriander and sweet-fennel seed distilled together for that
purpose: twelve drops are enough for a bushel of olives: some
prefer them flavored with this essence, but others like them best
plain.”
At present the use of aromatic substances commercially is not large. It
is contended that consumers cannot use flavored olives in sauces or
other preparations so freely, as extraneous flavors are introduced which
in some cases are undesirable, the unflavored olive permitting greater
freedom in use.
For the preparation of the green olives “a la Sevillane,” the fruit is
first treated with alkali, then washed in clear water, after which it is
put into 2 or 3 per cent boiled brine, where after a time fermentation
starts, which imparts a slight lactic acid taste to the fruit. It is
then washed in water, graded for size, and put in barrels with a 5 or 6%
salt, when they are ready for consumption.
The half ripe olives are put in a boiled brine of 12 to 15% for six
days, after which they are washed in running water and then put in jars
in a 6 to 8% brine with a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme and fennel.
Olives prepared in this way are called “a la Provencale.” A variation on
this method, called “a la Madrilene” is to put the olives in barrels,
after the preliminary salting and washing, in 10% brine with red
pimiento, pepper corns, laurel, thyme, and tomato purée.
The black olives are gathered at the time of the change in color, and
put in water, renewed every 12 hours, until the bitterness has
disappeared, which requires 40 to 50 days, sometimes even longer. They
are then put into brine.
The large olive “La Tanche” after sorting and cleaning is put directly
into a 10 to 15% brine in wooden casks or cement tanks which hold from
4,000 to 6,000 kilos. When the bitterness has been abstracted, they are
ready for sale. The brine is decanted and held until the following year.
To prepare them so that they may be ready for sale sooner, the fruit is
run over a roller provided with fine points which perforate the skin,
after which the olives are put in layers and sprinkled generously with
salt. They are stirred frequently, and when they “sweat,” they are put
in barrels with pepper corns and bay leaves, or in jars with olive oil
and condiments, or they may be put in jars without any addition as they
are preserved by their own oil and the absorbed salt.
The methods of preparation cited are those used for olives consumed in
foreign countries, very few thus prepared being imported, as they are
known only to olive connoisseurs.