Olives101.com

A Northland olive oil has taken the top prize at the LA County Fair in the United States - one of the world’s biggest olive oil competitions.

By Maryline Larocque
If ever there were a natural food and wine “pairing” in the raw, it’s grapes and olives. In Spain, Italy, Greece, and now California, the two crops are virtually inseparable. Antoinette Addison of Figueroa Farms (www.FigueroaFarms.com) inherited a third of an olive orchard in Provence, France. She and her husband, Shawn, bought out [...]

By Julissa McKinnon,
This week the House of Representatives approved more than $44 million to continue funding three agricultural research programs that benefit Napa County. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, secured the funding in the 2007 agriculture spending bill. The bill has yet to go to the Senate, where it could be amended and approved.
The [...]

By Lauren Beckham Falcone
Leave the chianti. Take the oil.

From tastings to housewarming gifts, olive oil is the new wine.“It’s a huge market,” said Kim Evers, manager of O & Co. on Newbury Street. “It’s becoming a big household gift because when people bring wine, they usually drink it right away. With olive oil, it lasts.”

On le sait et on le répète, l’huile d’olive est une des meilleures qui soit. Beaucoup la considère comme un aliment-santé. Elle agirait comme anti-oxydant et anti-cholestorol. Sans compter qu’elle amène du soleil dans nos assiettes ! L’olivier est un arbre noble, symbole du bassin méditerranéen. En France, il est présent depuis 20 000 ans [...]

The Umbria region is the centre of the world’s attention for three days for extra virgin olive oil. From June 2 to 4, 16 countries will showcase the best they’ve got in terms of olive oil production, with 200 Italian and foreign labels participating in “Exolea”, a fair taking place in Foligno, Spello, Montefalco, Trevi, [...]

By Linda Gassenheimer
Give the Memorial Day Cookout a touch of elegance with this easy grilled seafood entree for two.
It’s a luxury to savor salmon this time of year. Try it with olive tapenade, a paste made from olives, garlic, olive oil and herbs. There are many good varieties on the market.

By Rachid Merzaq, Morocco Times
The 4th International Olive Tree Fair, themed ‘Olive culture: a Spur for Agricultural Development’, opened Thursday in Marrakech, at the initiative of the Regional Olive-Growing Committee of Al-Haouz.

Il est de bon ton de parler de l’huile d’olive comme on parle d’un vin. Et comme il n’existe pas une, mais des huiles d’olive, 20 000 personnes ont goûté celles apportées par les petits producteurs venus pour les 8es Journées méditerranéennes de l’olivier, qui se sont tenues à Nîmes (Gard) du 19 au 21 [...]

To serve 4
· 100 g salt anchovies, or 1 small tin anchovies
· 1 garlic clove, peeled
· 250 g black olives, stoned
· 125 g capers
· 4 tbsp olive oil

To serve 4
6 eggs
· 100 g black olives, stoned & finely chopped
· 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
· ½ tsp ground caraway
· ½ tsp ground cumin
· 1 tbsp olive oil
· 1 pinch sweet paprika
· [...]

By Tee Shiao Eek
FROM the proverbial olive branch grows a small green (sometimes black) fruit. The essence of this fruit is in the oil, a pungent liquid of light green-golden colour, with a reputation that spans generations and cultures.
In ancient times, olive oil was revered as a gift of the gods, for people to use [...]

Claudia Pharand spreads olive oil on her toast for breakfast. Sometimes she adds homemade jam or maple syrup. She cooks fish and vegetables with olive oil, whips it into a mean béchamel sauce, even uses it on her skin and hair for that extra healthy glow. She goes through one litre of the viscous green [...]

By Bill Krueger,
There appears to be a geographical gradient from north to south with the problem being more severe in the north and getting somewhat less toward the south.
Generally speaking, olive yields in the Sacramento Valley were lighter [...]

It has been a bumper year for Hunter’s olive industry, which is expected to produce a record crop.
The Upper and Lower Hunter now has more than 200,000 olive trees producing table fruit and oil.
This year’s harvest will finish next week and vice-president of the Hunter Olive Association, Mike Wilson, says yields are likely to be [...]

Stripped of authority to certify grades such as extra virgin,
an industry panel weighs its future.
By Jerry Hirsch,
California’s olive oil police have been pulled over.
An industry panel that for five years has certified the quality of California’s olive oil — discerning virgin from extra virgin oil — has flunked an international taste test.

By Sarah Lee
OLIVES are being picked across the Broke and Hambledon Hill areas in abundance confirming this year as the biggest and best harvest yet.
Hunter Olive Association vice president Mike Wilson is very pleased with the outcome of harvest that began in February.
While it was an early start to picking this year, olives have shown [...]

…the feral olive, a ‘horticultural time bomb’
By Graeme O’Neill

THEY’RE tough, prolific breeders and not keen on making friends with the natives.
Now two leading environmental scientists have called for stricter controls on olive orchards, describing them as a horticultural time bomb. They say orchards need to be netted to prevent birds spreading olive seeds into [...]

Olives Festival in South Africa
Olives groves are fast becoming a fixture alongside the Cape’s vineyards, with the quaint sister towns of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West — a mere 5km apart — a hub of the local olive industry. Only fitting then, that they should host a weekend festival dedicated to these plump, flavoursome fruits [...]

By Taylor Eason
I had no idea what I didn’t know. I went on a wine trip to Italy and stumbled into the fascinating, ancient world of olive oil, an industry so similar to wine that it’s freaky. In Italy, the two dance together like lovers. Quality wine, meet quality olive oil … nice to see [...]

Qu’on les aime pour cuisiner ou pour grignoter à l’apéro, les olives gagnent de plus en plus en popularité. À preuve, toutes ces variétés dans nos épiceries.

Ever think of olives as a fruit? Not sweet, but rich in healthful fats, olives are more than a savory ingredient and finger food.Why so healthful?

When Ken and Joan Dugan decided to plant one of country Victoria’s first olive groves eight years ago, they hoped to produce one of Australia’s finest extra virgin olive oils.
Now, their oil is sold in most Australian supermarkets, in major supermarkets in the United Kingdom, in Asia and the United States and has won dozens [...]

Above all things pickled, the olive
BY Amy Atkins
Green: the color of re-birth, freedom, celebration and … pickled items. Pickling is done when a raw food is put in an acid (vinegar) or a citrus juice or soaked in brine solution. Years ago, pickling was used to keep foods from spoiling during long sea voyages. If [...]

By Louise Bettison

LEARNING to distinguish between table and oil olive trees should be compulsory for anyone wanting to establish an olive farm, according to grower Donald Mackenzie.