After nearly ten years, the olive tree has started bearing fruit. Just a few last year, that never grew beyond the size of a currant. This year, they’ve survived the winter and are almost the size of the black olives I like. The birds have had a few pecks of them and spat them on the ground, so I guess they probably taste horrid.
I read somewhere that olives are cured for eating, I’ve no idea what with of how, but I expect they need a whole lot more heat and sun to be enjoyable. Some of you are in olive producing countries, perhaps you could tell me more?
Lucid Gypsy 
We had an olive tree when we lived in France, and I can tell you that the fruits were just …. vile. How anyone ever worked out that with time, t-l-c and skill they could turn into the wonderful products we all all love to use is beyond me.
Ahh, one of those strange culinary mysteries then, glad I wasn’t tempted to taste one!
I used to try to pickle mine olives many many years ago.(I had four healthy trees)
Unless you have heaps of olives I don’t think the hassle is worth it. We used to pick ours when green, not black/ripe like yours are. then the olives were washed and placed in a strong brine solution…but it is easier to give you a link 🙂
http://www.oliveaustralia.com.au/Pickling_your_Olives/pickling_your_olives.html
My Italian friends despaired of me and my attempts and I stuck to buying the commercially prepared olives.
Have FUN!
They look really big, Gilly. If the birds don’t like them, I’m sure they don’t taste nice. 😳
I don’t think they appreciate TX heat. 🙂
With or without fruit, olive trees are very pretty. Is this grown outdoors or in the conservatory?
Outdoors, facing south-east 🙂
They look beautiful. I think you should at least take a tiny taste of one. You’ll never know for sure unless you do. And surely there’s information online about picking and preparing them. I don’t know anything about them except that I love them — green or black — but then I’ve had only the ones I buy in a store.
It would appear that they just have to be soaked in brine for ages!
Well it does look lovely at least though I think the birds might know a secret or two.
Labour intensive as I remember: brine needed to be changed more often than we actually got round to changing it. A Greek friend in Broken Hill had it down to a fine art – it involved vats, brine and (if I remember right ) an egg in its shell floated to calibrate the density of the brine. As an aside, Broken Hill ended up producing gourmet oil from 850 trees grown by a cooperative in a former sludge pit.
I think I’ll stick with Sainsburys! How is it being back home? Have you walked on the beach yet?
For all my beach nostalgia, no! I’ve been a bit daunted by spacing ss and urgent things to do – like get the car registered. However, today’s the day, so I’ll send you prospective sandy hugs.
There’s a moral here…
Hmmh! I don’t think I can add anything useful. Becky might have a clue but she’s gadding about 🙂 🙂
Hey Gilly we get our olives pressed. It never ceases to amaze me that someone thought they could be used for oil or soaked in brine. The birds here happily eat them ..