the olive blog

La Raccolta

La Raccolta (the harvest) is a short documentary, by New York filmaker Donna Lennard, that explores the olive harvest in a small community in Umbria. More here.

Natural Polishing

A tip from polishing hardwood furniture -- mix ½ cup of lemon juice with a cup of olive oil and polish.

Tunisian sales up

Reuters report that Tunisia, the world's fourth-largest olive oil producer, increased sales abroad by 15 percent to 89,300 tonnes over the first three months of the 2008. More here.

Andalusia Olive Oil

the olive blog stumbled across this small store -- La Alacena - off a side street near the Cathedral in Granada. Operated by a New Zealand lady and long time resident of Granada it has an extensive range of local olive oil and offers tastings.

The Olive Trees of the Alhambra II

A final snap from of the olive trees at the Alhambra from the series this week at the olive blog.

The Olive Trees of the Alhambra

Following yesterday's post the olive blog continues through Andalusia with some photos below of the olive trees of the Alhambra.

The Alhambra

the olive blog has been touring Andalusia and, this post, we continue with a snap of the olive grove on the drive into the Alhambra.

Koehler's Medicinal-Plants 1887

A 19 century print from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887) at wikipedia.

 

Cordoba Amphorae

A couple of snaps of amphorae from Cordoba. The first from the Mezquita and the second from the courtyard of Archaeological Museum.

Australian Olive Grove Raids

Thieves have have been targetting olive groves in Australia where there strip all the fruit in overnight raids. More here at The Australian.

The Mezquita's Olive Tree II

Following yesterday's post some more snaps from of the Mezquita olive tree in Cordoba. Look closely at the close up and you can see the small but growing olives. Some websites say the tree was planted in the 18th century.

The Mezquita's Olive Tree

the olive blog has been touring Andalusia.  Today we start with a post from Cordoba where the magnificent Mezquita (Spanish for "mosque") cathedral is located. The site has been the location of a temple, a church, a mosque and now a cathedral. In the courtyard of the Mezquita is the olive tree pictured to the side and below. More snaps tomorrow.

Greece, Olive Oil and Trade

John Steel's NY Times book review of William J. Bernstein's "A Splendid Exchange: How trade shaped the world", comments:

"The poor soil and scant rain of ancient Greece, for instance, meant that the terrain’s ability to grow grain was limited, but grape vines and olive trees grew in abundance. To export its wine and olive oil, Athens developed a pottery industry to supply the jars in which those products were transported. As Greek trade, and colonies, flourished across the length and breadth of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, naval power was needed to suppress piracy. To control choke points like the Dardanelles and Bosporus, which led to the rich grain lands of what is now Ukraine, the Athenian empire developed." 

Organic Oil in Spain

According to the data of the Andalusian Committee for Organic Agriculture (CAAE) approximately 8.5 million kilograms of organic olive oil were put on the Spanish market in 2007 with  sales of this product increasing by 39% in 2007. More here.

Italy confiscates fake olive oil

The BBC reports that Italian police have arrested 25 people in the south of the country suspected of selling adulterated vegetable oil as extra virgin olive oil. Sunflower oil was apparently mixed with chlorophyll and beta-carotene to give it olive oil's characteristic colour.  More here at the BBC.