Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1908 — Olives and Olive Oil. [ARTICLE]

Olives and Olive Oil.

Spain’s olive industry is increasing in importance. One of the leading branches is the preparation of green olives. The olives are put up is bottles or kegs. To- carry out the pickling process the olives are well sorted, as only those which show no faults can be kept. They are then placed for several days in cold water, which is renewed frequently. Then they are placed in a brine bath, which consists of a salt and soda solution, and are covered with the liquid. In some cases different aromatic substances are added to the bath so as to give a special flavor to the olives. Ripe or nearly ripe olives are but little in demand and are not consumed to a large extent. Extraction of olive oil has been carried out heretofore by a primitive pro 'cess, although improved machinery is now being introduced. The olives were ground up in a horse mill before pressing. The ground olives were then put in a lever press, using boiling water for the extraction. The process is a slow one and the olives need to be stored on hand for some time. They are thus likely to ferment and give an inferior quality of oil. It is estimated that there are some 3,000 or 4,000 of such primitive oil presses in use in Spain at the .present time. After the extraction the oil is placed ip large earthenware jars or tin tanks and is then filtered. In some cases the air is kept from the oil by means of a layer of alcohol, which is placed on the surface. The Inferior grades of oil are used in soap manufacture.