Olives not eat-able from the Tree
By Inlemay
@Inlemay (17713)
South Africa
July 30, 2017 2:13am CST
I have been reading Katerina's book slowling and enjoying every chapter when I have had the time. "Goat in The Meze" is certainly light Greek entertainment and as I progress through the village of Astakos and get to meet the 'all to familiar' people that make it so interesting, I found that chapter 29 had a certain kind of relevance to a day that I tried olives from a tree.
Arbour Day is a holiday in South Africa where people are encouraged to plant trees. Just after we moved into our old-but-newly-bought-house we planted an olive tree.
Three years later it was quite a structured little bush and I I noticed a few sprouting green bubbles every now and then. I was so excited and watched the fruit grow into nice marble sized green fruit. One day as I was watering the garden I decided to see if the fruit were ripe - so to say. I picked two and took a big bit out the fruity flesh of the first one only to discover it was insipidly bitter and had to spit it out quickly.
Oh No, I thought my fruits had gone off.
When I told my hubby, he laughed and laughed and then told me that olives cannot be eaten off the trees but have to be pickled in brine to make them edible.
Now I know why this famous fruit is so pricey - I gave pickling olives a try and it was a very time consuming effort and they didnt taste anything like the ones I get in the bottle.
So I have left the Edible Olive Making to the experts.
Thanks Katerina @thea09 I am loving all the tales from Greece.
16 people like this
14 responses
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
1 Aug 17
Haha you do make me laugh with your little escapades. Perhaps you too should write a book. I must admit I have yet to have a read although I have downloaded it I still have not had the chance.
3 people like this
@Inlemay (17713)
• South Africa
3 Aug 17
@thea09 its the way I was taught to LEARN - slowly and steadily. I love the characters of your book - their names are so difficult to pronounce - I have recently met with Vangelis and that is a name I can say easily. ha ha ha dont mind me, I will finish your book in good time.
? My worst experience has not been with olives but with quinces when I was a kid : why are they so good once cooked and absolutely not edible on the tree 
?
@Tampa_girl7 (50205)
• United States
30 Jul 17
I've never had an Olive right off the tree. Thanks for the warning 
2 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
30 Jul 17
Olive trees are here too but they are not safe as they spray too much pesticide around so I never touch them although they are lovely to see around.
1 person likes this
@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
30 Jul 17
@Inlemay - Olives ... One of my buddies had an interest in a company that sold "stuffed olives." The olives arrived at the company in large casks filled with olives in brine. They were imported from several different countries to their "stuffing factory" located in South Texas. It looked to be an interesting business. -Gus-
2 people like this
@shikharava (1838)
•
30 Jul 17
Yes, your husband's right. They need to be pickled first so that they could to be eaten. Also there's a bitter chemical inside the juice of olives which needs to be squeezed out. I have been to a farm where they grew olives and learned how they extracted olive oil from the freshly picked fruits. It was amazing to know about it. (*_*)
1 person likes this
