Stop harvesting olives at night — it kills millions of songbirds (2024)

FAQs

Why do they harvest olives at night? ›

The trees are stripped at night because cool temperatures help to preserve the olives' aromatic compounds.

WHEN TO HARVEST OLIVES? In general, olives are harvested between October and January. But it all depends on the time of year when the fruit ripens: from one geographical area to another, the harvest period can be very different, depending on sunshine and exposure conditions.

Every year, usually in late October, Italians begin the age-old tradition of harvesting olives to make extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), and typically families will harvest their olives to make enough oil to use throughout the year.

By hand with a net, with the help of plastic rakes (pettini) and sometimes long wooden sticks, is probably the most common method. Electric-powered tools for harvesting olives do exist, but the branches and olives can suffer.

The olive tree's association with royalty and rulership is also shown by its usage in providing “oil” to anoint those favored by God. It was an emblem of sovereignty, and was used to anoint “kings” to office (I Sam. 10:1, I Kings 1:39; II Kings 9:1, 6).

One can eat olives at any time of the day. However, they are rich in healthy fats. Therefore one can eat them before bedtime if one wishes to have a healthy nighttime snack. In addition, they balance blood sugar, help you feel fuller, and aid in a good night's sleep.

Olives are harvested both by-hand and mechanically. Harvested olives may be milled to make oil or cured for food production. Olives cannot be consumed direct from the tree; they are too bitter without curing. The raw fruit is bursting with oleuropein, a bitter compound that must be removed prior to eating.

There is no such thing as fresh olives, as olives right from the tree are super bitter and inedible. Olives must be cured to eat. These ancient fruits are enjoyed all over the world as simple snacks, elaborate antipasto and cheese board features, as well as gourmet ingredients in everything from pasta salads to pizzas.

All olives start green on the tree and turn black as they ripen. The earlier the pick the firmer the olive will be when you eat it. Greener olives will usually have lighter nuttier flavor to black. Some varieties are best picked green, others black.

Olives begin bearing fruit in the tree's fifth year and have full fruit production in seven to eight years after planting. After that they do produce fruit every year. There are varieties among olive trees that are more susceptible to alternate bearing .. one year they have fruits , next year none.

Does the oldest olive tree still produce olives? ›

The Olive tree of Vouves (Greek: Ελιά Βουβών) is an olive tree in the village of Ano Vouves in the municipal unit of Kolymvari in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Probably one of the oldest olive trees in the world, it still produces olives today.

California produces essentially all of the commercial olives in the United States. A decade ago, most US olives were processed as tables olives, the majority canned whole. These are the black olives that we eat on pizza. California table olives are green and inedible when harvested.

1. Olives are inedible before they are cured. Many people don't know that olives are actually inedible when they are first picked. Raw olives straight from the tree contain oleuropein, an extremely bitter compound that makes olives completely unpalatable.

However, it is Albania and Syria that lead the way in global table olive consumption per capita, with the two Mediterranean nations consuming 10.8 and 10.1 kilograms per person each year, respectively.

The main culprit is a bitter compound called oleuropein. And fresh olives contain a ton of it: up to 14% of its dry weight.

The first press produces the most pure oil. In Biblical times, this was used to fuel the lamps in the temple, for anointing oil, and for meal offerings. The oil produced during a second pressing was used for medicinal purposes. The third and final press produced oil used for soap.

Even once opened, jarred olives will remain fresh for 12 to 18 months, provided they are sealed and stored properly in the fridge. By contrast, olives from the olive bar will only last in the fridge for up to three weeks. Storing olives in brine will help them retain their flavor and prevent quick spoilage.

Harvested olives must be “cured” to remove the bitterness in order to make them palatable. The most common curing processes use brine, dry salt, water, or lye treatments. During these curing processes the water-soluble oleuropein compound is leached out of the olive flesh.

There is no such thing as fresh olives, as olives right from the tree are super bitter and inedible. Olives must be cured to eat. These ancient fruits are enjoyed all over the world as simple snacks, elaborate antipasto and cheese board features, as well as gourmet ingredients in everything from pasta salads to pizzas.