Posted on 10/14/2011 3:49:19 PM PDT by FoxPro
I apologize for the vanity posting, but I am at the end of my rope on this. And that leads me to ask this question to the smartest people in the world, the people that read and post articles to the Free Republic website.
You cant buy fresh "off the tree" olives anywhere, that I can find, in California. And they are everywhere. I was up in Napa and Sonoma Valley last week, and there are olive trees everywhere. We drove all over the place, to every produce stand we could find. Nobody sells uncured olives.
The thing is, I have done just about everything, with food. I have cured my own sauerkraut, for instance (with caraway seeds). But I have never cured olives, and I am keen to do so.
So if anybody can explain to me, why, in a place where olive trees are legion, I cant actually get my hands on some fresh ones, I would really appreciate it.
Does anybody know where I can buy uncured olives in the northern or greater Los Angeles area, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks Foxpro
Have you tried growing your own? Just wondering.
You are not allowed to eat unprocessed foods.
If you were, ADM would lose the monopoly on food it bought from Congress.
not in El Ley, but up in Corning there are olives all over the place.
I think you should ask the moderator to move this to breaking...
I wonder if there are “regulations” you know to protect us dumb sheep from buying olives from the trees?
I’m in L.A. as well. I do the “fresh grown” thing but have never heard of olives. Saved your handle. I’ll ask around.
Probably not enough people want them to support a ‘market’... Aren’t they somewhat difficult to cure? And make a person sick if it’s not done right? Or are these old wives tales?
I posted this in chat.
I’m not an olive person but why do they have to be cured? Can’t you just pick them off of a tree and eat them?
A lot of the Catholic Churches in East Bay have olive trees. Just go in, ask the pastor n pick`em.
You need to know how to cure them. The lye you need cannot be bought in California either. Usually People have a favorite tree somewhere and keep a eye on them until ripe. Queen Annes are the best but hard to find. Well worth the work to cure them.
See this www.greatolives.com out of Orland CA
I believe there is a non-lye method for curing.
http://homecooking.about.com/od/fruitrecipes/r/blfruit38.htm
“Have you tried growing your own? Just wondering.”
Plant, wait twenty years, harvest. No problem.
Olives off the tree are sour, bitter, and extremely unpleasant. They take quite a month to cure without chemicals and are labor intensive. With chemicals it is faster (about 4 days) but more hazardous. It is worth the effort if you like olives, though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.