200 years old heritage trees lost
By Kerry Coleman,
In 1820, a grove of olive trees was planted in Cranebrook by the wife of infamous convict Samuel Terry.
Last week, Penrith council chopped down all of the nearly 200-year-old heritage-listed trees.
Elderly Cranebrook resident Shirley Tesoriero was very fond of the trees that sat off Soling Crescent, near Boundary Road.
“I’d read about them in the paper and it made me proud to drive past them every day,” she said. “I’d even told my family about them.”
Driving home last Wednesday afternoon, Mrs Tesoriero noticed bulldozers and trucks where her favourite trees had been.
“All of them were gone,” she said. “I was so upset I rushed home to ring council but no one answered.”
Historian Jean Stevens from the Nepean Valley Historical society said the trees were of huge historical significance to Penrith.
“For nearly 200 years those trees have been a conspicuous element of the landscape,” she said.
“They marked what was the largest estate of the colonial era and essentially the beginning of Penrith.”
Posted in Australia | NZ, Olive Tree by: Olives101
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All you wanted to know about Olives and Olive Oil
Here is a very complete article by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, on Olives and Olive Oil which includes history, information on olive varieties, and usage tips.
Part 1: The only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness
Long a symbol of peace, the olive branch brings us a marvelous, healthy fruit. Get up to date on this ancient fruit, from its origins to some intriguing olive recipes. But first, learn a little about the history of olives, types, varieties and how to store them.
Olive history
The olive (Olea europaea) dates back to 17th century B.C where it first appeared in print in Egyptian records and was mentioned numerous times in the Bible. The word comes from the Latin olivea which first appeared in English around 1200 a.d.
Since the olive is native to the Mediterranean area, it’s no surprise to learn the largest producers in the world are Italy and Spain, where olives are a diet mainstay. Olive trees were introduced to California circa 1769 by the Spaniards, where they flourished. California now provides almost 200,000 tons of commercial olive crops per year.
In the late 19th century, Professor Frederic T. Bioletti of the University of California invented a method of canning olives (referred to as “green ripe”) using an alkaline solution and brine, providing year-round availability of olives and a boost to the olive industry.
Olive types
The only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness. Unripe olives are green and fully ripe olives are black. Olives are cured or pickled before consumption, using various methods including oil-cured, water-cured, brine-cured, dry-cured, and lye-cured. Green olives must be soaked in a lye solution before brining, whereas ripe black olives can proceed straight to brining. The longer the olive is permitted to ferment in its own brine, the less bitter and more intricate its flavor will become. Green olives are usually pitted, and often stuffed with various fillings, including pimientos, almonds, anchovies, jalapénos, onions or capers. Black olives are graded into sizes labeled as small (3.2 to 3.3 grams each), medium, large, extra large, jumbo, colossal, and supercolossal (14.2 to 16.2 grams). Black olives contain more oil than green. Unopened olives can be stored at room temperature up to two years. Opened olives should be refrigerated in their own liquid in a non-metal container and will last up to several weeks after opening.
Posted in Articles, Health, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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Olives and Olive Oil Fight Wrinkles
By Savvy_lover,
The oleic acid found in olives and virgin olive oil can make the difference between a complexion that looks and feels like old shoe leather – and one that looks like a rose petal. Oleic acid actually soaks through the membranes of skin cells plumping them up, which then makes fine lines and wrinkles less noticeable.
[Source] Click here to continue
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Gold, olive green, citrine: all colors of olive oils
By Bev Bennett,
Different olive oils complement dishes.
But when you’re reaching for oil to use in a salad dressing or for cooking, color isn’t the most important consideration.
Instead you want oil that’s appropriate to your dish, says Alessio Carli, an olive oil and wine maker for Pietra Santa winery near Monterey Bay in California.
He suggests treating your olive oil selections as you do your wines. Read the label to determine whether the oil’s flavor and cooking qualities are suited to your dish.
For example, if the label describes an oil that’s pungent, spicy and peppery, that’s the oil you’ll want to dress a salad or to brush over a piece of bread for bruschetta.
A blended olive oil, which has a softer taste, is better suited for cooking. When preparing turkey or pork cutlets, add a little blended olive oil to the skillet.
Finishing oils are a third category. After you’ve prepared a dish, you may notice that the flavors don’t quite harmonize or are still harsh. Sprinkle on a bit of olive oil, and you’ll taste a difference.
Keeping more than one olive oil on hand may seem like an expensive proposition, but if you buy oil in a half-liter bottle and store it in a cool spot away from heat, you’ll get the most value for your purchase.
But remember Carli’s advice that, “oil doesn’t get better with age as wine does,” and use it.
[Source] Click here
Posted in California, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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Food detective: Olives
By Sheila Keating,
A firm, fruity olive is a beautiful thing, so why is it so hard to find? Purity of flavour is what olive-lovers crave, but frequently what is on offer is a plethora of antiseptic-tasting, flabby specimens, stuffed with synthetic pastes, or drenched with incongruous marinades.
How do green and black olives differ?
Green olives are picked when unripe and hard. At this point they are bitter and inedible and have to go through a brining and fermentation process. Traditional methods involve soaking in water then brine, until the olive is completely fermented and cured (and “bad” bacteria is destroyed), and has a fresh, fruity flavour and a slight crunch. Faster, more commercial operations, however, involve soaking in caustic soda to remove the bitterness, before brining and heat treating. “Black” olives are green olives that have been left on the tree to ripen, become softer and more oily. As they do so, they turn darker, but are rarely uniformly black. When you see boot-polish black olives, in fact, they are green olives that have been soaked in water with oxygen running through it to turn them black. Then they are fixed with ferrous gluconate (E579, which must be listed on labels).
Posted in Articles, Europe | U.K, General Infos by: Olives101
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