![]() ![]() Six to eight months after the flowers bloomed, the fruit will reach its greatest weight and 20-30% of that weight (excluding the pit) is oil. ![]() The ripe olives are also harvested for processing as food but are left on the trees still longer if they are to be used for oil. Olives mature on the tree and can be harvested for green table olives when the fruit is immature or left on the tree to ripen. Whatever your constraints, most producers are racing to get the perfect balance of maturity of their fruit before the first frost of the year, after which the olives might not pass the sensory and chemistry tests necessary in making extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). But they can’t see if you plan to harvest only the ripest olives early and return to the tree in three weeks to harvest newly ripened olives by hand since ripening is not even across trees.Īdditionally, you may have contractual agreements requiring harvest completion by specific dates. Mechanical harvesters reduce the need for hand crews and may reduce bruising of fruit since it doesn’t drop to the ground. Shelf life may be relatively short (one year or less), with most canned olives having a maximum shelf life of three to four years.įactors affecting harvest timing may include current weather conditions but also available harvest crews (if hand harvesting), volume of trees to harvest, spacing of those trees and more. Olives picked in October are typically ready to eat in the following May or June. Olive production for food is similar to winemaking, going through a fermentation process before being edible.Cultivar drupes (the fruit), with high oil content and small pit-to-pulp ratio, are often exclusively produced for oil. Different cultivars work best for oil or for food production.The raw fruit is bursting with oleuropein, a bitter compound that must be removed prior to eating. Olives cannot be consumed direct from the tree they are too bitter without curing. Harvested olives may be milled to make oil or cured for food production. Olives are harvested both by-hand and mechanically.of olives is often more than one tree’s worth of olives. Depending upon ripeness, it takes about 80-100 pounds (36-45 kg.) of olives to make 1 gallon (3.8 L.) of olive oil.Some cultivars are traditionally harvested with only modest ripeness (green) others are ripened completely to achieve optimum flavors (black). Black olives merely indicate a high level of ripeness. But harvest can last into December depending upon the desired flavor profile. In California, in the Northern Hemisphere, that is usually late October and November. Olives are harvested most commonly in mid- to late-fall.If you are new to olive growing and harvesting, here’s a primer: Here’s a terrific, short video, produced by California Ripe Olives as an introduction: For food production, do you have preferences in curing methods or recipes?.For producing oil, is this for home or commercial use? (For the latter, will you be targeted EVOO standards?).Do you have a set harvest date(s), or are you waiting to determine ripeness level?.Are you harvesting mechanically or by hand?.If you don’t know, much will depend upon what cultivar(s) you are growing, as some are ideal for producing oil, and others are prized for their flavor profile.Are you harvesting to make oil or to eat?.Therefore, the factors to consider in harvesting olives include: It is the combination of the harvest, the cure, and any added flavors that yield the characteristics sought by the producer and consumer. Damaged fruit can still be used by pressing it into oil. Older olive fruit can be salt-cured or dry cured to produce a salty, wrinkled product. ![]() Fruit can be harvested when it is green and unripe, fully ripened to black, or any stage in between. ![]() The key to the olive flavor, color, and texture is the moment of harvest. ![]()
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