California Olive Oil News^©
A Publication of The Olive Oil Source  

Volume 3 Issue 11  

November 2000

COOC Trip to Duarte Nursery

Hughson, CA - This October forty COOC members made a rainy drive to Duarte Nursery near Modesto, California for a tour of their olive cultivating operations. Duarte is one of the largest nurseries in the state, specializing in fruit trees and grapes.  Starting with a trip to Spain five years ago, they have made a substantial investment in olive trees.  At the informational session after the tour, vice president John Duarte described how they have hired olive expert Alexander Tereshchenko from the Research Institute of Vine and Wine in Yalta, Ukraine as part of a complete package of services for olive growers. They have ongoing research on growing densities, chemical treatments, watering systems, and varieties.  Duarte is concentrating on 24 varieties which show promise in California and which are "industrial" varieties capable of early and high yields, disease resistance and easy pruning and picking.  John predicts varietal trends in the oil business similar to what is seen in the wine business.  They aim to accommodate unusual requests and will graft or propagate "heirloom" or proprietary varieties.

Alexander Tereshchenko fielding questions at Duarte

Alexander  Tereshchenko was the Head of the Plant Propagation Department in Yalta and has now instituted a complete research and growing program at Duarte, looking into speeding the time to first fruiting, optimum planting densities, watering times, etc.  While lunch was being served, Alexander gave a brief history of the olive in California, with recommendations for the new book by Judith Taylor - Olives in California.  He described the "hotspots" of olive cultivation: Spain with the largest number of trees, Italy with the largest total yield, Argentina and Chile with massive new orchards being planted in Arbequina, Frantoio and Leccino, and Australia with their blossoming olive industry.  China has done extensive research into the optimum olive varieties for their climate and have settled on Frantoio, Coratina and Leccino for their large scale orchards.  He also described the difference in performance between rooted cuttings and seedlings.  The juvenile trees seen were truly amazing with trunks to four feet and well formed crown shoots as early as 9 months.  By 18 months the trees were between 5 and 6 feet.  Alexander stressed that with their trees, minimal pruning would be necessary  and early fruiting was possible. (Some of their 2 year old trees had a few fruit). He favors a polyconical tree shape but they are experimenting with trellised fans and conical methods. 

Alexander gave an excellent description of the varieties he sees as being commercially important:

The ubiquitous Italian variety, Frantoio has a universally appealing flavor with very high quality oil, 26 - 28% oil yield and good fruit yield. Leccino is used as the pollinator.

The Leccino has 24 - 28% oil yield with excellent fruit yield and medium quality oil.  It tends to have a shorter ripening period and is very frost resistant.  Fruit tends to stay on the tree after ripening, facilitating late harvesting.

Moraiolo is the most popular olive tree in Tuscany.   Oil yield is 24 - 26% with good fruit yield.  As with the others, maximum yield is when the fruit is 1/2 purple till full ripening.

Itrana is considered a "universal variety". It can be used for pickling or oil and has a favorable pit to flesh ratio.  It tends to be late ripening in November or December with 20 - 22% oil yields.

The spanish varieties are familiar to Californians.  The Mission was originally from Spain and gives a medium yield, 18 - 20% oil with a low to medium quality oil.  Alexander did not recommend the Mission for new plantings.  

Manzanilla has good fruit yield, can be used for pickling and makes a good quality oil.  Trees tend to grow high and are difficult to keep polyconical.

Pictual is a semi-dwarf variety with great adaptability and has a short juvenile period with good fruit yields in the 4th to 5th year.  Oil yield is 25-26% with high oil quality.

The Greek Koroneiki has small berries but a high yield and very high oil quality.  

Kalamata is the least bitter of the commercially grown olives.  It can be cured quickly with water rinsing twice a day for 10 days.  It makes an attractive ornamental with large silvery leaves and gives 22% yield of a medium quality oil.

Impeltra has the best frost resistance, surviving temperatures below 20 degrees

Lucca is a "native" variety - created by Hartman in California.   It gives high olive yields with 27-28% oil  of a very high quality.  It has good frost resistance.

Coratina has a sweet, fruity flavor with 27-28% oil yield and very high quality oil.  Poly phenols are high.  It tends to be a big, pendulous tree.

San Felice gives 23-25% yield of a medium quality oil.  It tends to be very disease resistant and is frost resistant. 

Grappolo has oil yields of between 25 - 26%, very high phenolics and good fruit yield (oils with high phenolics are desired for blending with other oils to increase shelf life).  It tends to be a low, adaptable tree.

Picholine is a French variety which produces a berry which stays greenish when ripe.  

Aglandaou is a good pollinator, semi dwarf with a short juvenile stage.  It produces olives with 24-25% oil content.

Cayon produces 20-25% oil with very high polyphenols.

During the question and answer, Nick Sciabica asked if olives can be grown in Hawaii, a question we get frequently here at the Olive Oil Source.  Alexander felt that it would be possible but difficult with low yields. Another visitor asked about the olive's drought tolerance.  Alexander related visits to deserts where not a weed was growing but olive trees survived.  Ed Rich, COOC board member made a comment on watering, saying that it is best to cut back on watering in September.  He had the unfortunate experience of over watering and killing a dozen of his trees this fall. 

For inquiries about trees, contact Julie Medina at Duarte, 209.531.0351 or call 1-800-GRAFTED.  Duarte is at 1555 Baldwin Road, Hughson, CA 95326

The Fusti Thing

Greenbrae, CA - The Fusti is a metal container shaped like the old style milk jugs used at dairies.  Modern ones are usually stainless steel with a spigot at the bottom and large screw top.  Fustis are being used as a money maker by several oil producers.  Small ones of around  5 liters are being sold to the consumer with oil and larger ones are being installed in retail locations such as markets and delis.  The oil producer provides labeled or unlabelled bottles and keeps the fusti filled.  The customer fills the bottle and can bring back the empty for refilling.  Refilling is environmentally friendly and promotes brand loyalty.  B.R. Cohn has had a program for over a year.  Jamestown Olive Oil, Sciabica, The Olive Press, and many others are using fustis at farmer's markets or their retail location. Several oil distributors on the East Coast are promoting this dispensing method at retail locations.  The Olive Oil Source is importing fustis in many sizes from Italy by the container load.  Stainless steel production is subsidized in Italy and they make an excellent product.  For wholesale fusti prices, go to www.oliveoilsource.com .  

Jesuit Retreat House to Pick Olives Thanksgiving Weekend.

Volunteers are welcome at the annual picking of olives at the Jesuit Retreat House and the Carmelites in Santa Clara. As Father Bernie Bush describes, "Yes, we always pick on Thanksgiving weekend. It is a three-day weekend and people are free to help us, since many take the time off anyhow. And there is the guilt element, too. People ate too much on Thanksgiving and need to work it off. So it is to everyone's advantage. " He reports a "middling" crop. 

Father Bush lets the season determine the character of the oil: "If they ripen early, then well, we will have mostly black olives in the bins. If late, they are green. We take whatever stage of ripeness they are in on that weekend." Volunteers should come with sturdy clothes and shoes. Ladders, buckets and bins will be provided. In prior years helpers were rewarded with lunch and a bottle of oil and the knowledge of a good deed well done. The oil is used at the Retreat house for consumption and sacramental purposes. For more information, contact Bernie Bush at JBUSHSJ@aol.com

An Alternative to the USDA Diet Pyramid

Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust periodically holds international conferences on the Mediterranean Diet in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Oldways is a non-profit educational organization that promotes healthy eating based on the old ways, the traditional cuisines of cultures from around the world using foods grown and prepared in environmentally sustainable ways. They, along with the Harvard School of Public Health, and the World Health Organization have developed diet pyramids for Asian, Latin American, and vegetarian cuisines. These pyramids stress diets low in meat and saturated fats, substituting legumes, vegetables and monosaturated fats. The USDA diet pyramid has been criticized for being meat heavy. Some have accused the Beef industry of influencing the development of the latest USDA diet pyramid. Olive oil producers should promote these alternative food pyramids which stress olive oil and a Mediterranean diet.  For more information on Oldways, call 617-621-3000, fax 617-621-1230, or email to oldways@tiac.net.

COOC Members Meeting 

Mill Valley, CA - Roberto Zecca opened the November 29  meeting of the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) board at Frantoio, his fashionable Mill Valley restaurant,  with a review of the year. 

He related how COOC opposition to the USDA Market order effectively stalled implementation for the forseeable future. The department will take no further action "due to lack of consensus" among olive oil importers and U.S. producers. The importers were unwilling to a compromise whereby they must adhere to International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) labeling standards as the rest of the world does. (Getting Olive Oil accurately labeled in the U.S. has been a major effort of the COOC; currently the only legally recognized olive oil designations in the U.S. are the meaningless "fancy" and "super fancy"). 

31 olive oils were approved for the COOC extra Virgin seal, guaranteeing chemical and organoleptic consistency with IOOC guidelines. The board has been increased to 14 people and now includes new members Adin Hestor of the California Olive Council and Brendan Binder - CEO of Calio Groves.

Lila Yaeger was recognized with the Pioneer award for her efforts She became interested in olives in 1989 and in 1991 formed the COOC with Paul Vossen, Nick Sciabica, Ridgley Evers, and Daryl Corti. She was president for 4 years and then treasurer until 2 years ago. She expressed her thanks for the award and made a special thanks to the Sciabicas for their help. 

An update was given on current marketing efforts undertaken  by the council.  The  plan calls for a multipurpose brochure which would educate distributors, retailers and consumers. It is being produced by Michelle Anna Jordan and heavily promotes the COOC seal. 

Paul Vossen gave an update on the olive fly crisis. He explained that the U.C. extension experts like himself do not have the authority or budget to fight this problem, which is being handled by the USDFA and state agencies. The fly has gotten as far North as Santa Clara county in CA and in many San Diego orchards not a single olive was found which was maggot free. The maggots makes the olive unusable for pickling and imparts a negative flavor (maggoty) to oil made from infested olives. The maggot also causes oxidative damage which shortens oil life and increases acidity. Most oil made from infested olives would be inedible without processing. Roberto Zecca made the aside that not all years are bad ones in Mediterranean areas. In the past 14 years his groves in Italy have been badly hit only once.

Paul noted that areas with cold winters and dry summers are hostile to the fly, bad news for the coastal valleys and good news for the Sierra foothills. Because of over wintering in ornamental olives eradication is impossible. Control is feasible using sprays, poisoned bait and pheromone traps. Only one of these, Spinosat, is currently available under section 18 approval.

Judith Taylor, author of The Olive in California, was present to sign her very comprehensive history book. She gave a brief presentation and entertained questions about her experiences in writing the book. She started research on the book in Dec 1995 with interviews with the Sciabicas. We hope to have a complete review of the book by next newsletter.

The Olive Press Community Press

Glen Ellen - Twice each harvest season The Olive Press offers a community press.  The community press is ideal for growers who have olives to  press but who cannot reach the 800 pound minimum required to run the big olive press and who do not want to press their own on a hobby press like the First Press.  Last year over 50 growers brought in approximately three tons of olives to share communally.  Some people showed up with less than 20 pounds of olives, others contributed over 700 pounds, with the average participant weighing in at about 100 pounds.  Picking parties made up of friends, neighbors and family precede each season's crush, and the party continues at The Olive Press as people gather to watch the pressing.  The event is interesting and entertaining even for those with no olives to press and everyone is encouraged to join in.  Dates for the two annual events are determined after the harvest season begins.  This month the community press will be  Dec. 9 after the blessing of the olives in Sonoma.  The Olive Press is in Glen Ellen at 14301 Arnold Drive #15. Call 1-707-939-8900 for information.

Briefs:

Our Listing of U.S. olive oil producers/ marketers has now exceeded the 200 mark.  Three years ago this list was at 40!  If you do not have your free listing, email the Olive Oil Source.
Duarte sold out of Kalamata grafted trees for this year  - Pleasure Point taking small orders - see tree sources

Comments from the Internet:

Stephen asks: I did check your listings and found nothing for Tunisian varieties - all the nurseries carry mostly Italian and a few Spanish and Greek varieties. I'd be grateful if you'd post my query to see if someone has a lead.

OOS Responds: Do any readers know of Tunisian varieties for sale in California?

M Wallace asks:  Sir: I press about a ton of olives for my own personal use, not commercial. After resting in a cool dark place for six months the oil remained cloudy. The taste is, to me, superb. Perhaps a recipient of a gift bottle of my oil may be turned off by is lack of crystal clear appearance. Is centrifuging wise, or necessary? Is filtering a viable suggestion? 

For more news - go to our Food News Page

Events:

November

Olive Oil Educational Tour 2000 - The Major Oil Producing Regions of Italy - November 25 - December 9 A two week study tour guided by Paul Vossen (CCOC Advisor and Farm Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension, Sonoma and Marin Counties) and Darrell Corti (Internationally recognized wine and food authority and COOC member). View the best oils of Liguria, Toscana, Umbria, Puglia and Sardegna.   Room is limited to 25 and preference is extended to active producers of California olive oil. For more information, please contact Mary Jane Drinkwater at Town and Country Travel at 800-444-3718

December

Blessing of the Olives, Dec. 9 at 11 AM at the Sonoma Misson Inn located in downtown Sonoma at the square.  The Olive Press in Glen Ellen will be open for viewing of their active press after the blessing and will accept small quantities of their olives for their community press event.

Copyright ©  May 18, 2003 The Olive Oil Source. All rights reserved.