 |
| Olives do surprisingly well here, though yields are smaller |
It’s olive
harvesting season in Tasmania. Yes, olives! I always thought they were only a
Mediterranean crop, yet as with cool climate wines, cool climate olives are
considered the crème de la crème, though as with cool climate wine, the yields
are much smaller. Although Australians are the largest consumers of olive oil
outside the Mediterranean, Tasmania accounts for around 1% of the nation’s 45,000
tonnes (2013 figures) which has increased by 790% in just two decades. Around
20% of Australia’s crop is exported to countries such as China, The USA, New
Zealand and even Spain and Italy, with several brands winning medals at
international events. Tasmanian olive
oils won 20 awards - three gold, eight silver and 9 bronze, at the National Competition in 2017, attesting to the quality of the local product.
 |
| Freshfield Olive Grove -between showers |
On Sunday I went to Freshfield Grove at
Campania (near Richmond) for their Community Olive Pressing Day. Freshfield is run by Fiona and Glenn Maskowski who,
though fairly new to the olive business – only since 2014, are already making a
name for themselves. They tied for reserve champion in the 2017 national competition.
They have around 1000 olive trees, mostly Picual and Manzanillo, which are
ideally suited to colder conditions.
 |
| Grey skies did not necessarily dampen anyone's enthusiasm |
The day didn’t look too promising. It was around
11° C and the blustery wind brought intermittent
showers. We could have done with a bit of Mediterranean weather, but Tasmania’s olive
harvest happens in winter -from April to August, so it was not unexpected and there
was still much fun to be had. It was for instance, a fine excuse to start with
some mulled wine, possibly followed by hot chips and or seafood and for sitting on hay bales around the fire or under an awning if necessary. The wind
also made for rapid change. When the clouds parted, more and more people began
to arrive bearing buckets and baskets of home grown olives or setting off, often
with the whole family in tow - grandmas, children, babies in prams, even the
occasional dog on a leash, to relieve groaning olive trees of their burden.
 |
| Parting of the clouds |
I picked just
under a third of a kilo, wishing my tall friend had been with me because the
best ones seemed to be at the top, but there was much satisfaction in
harvesting anything at all. I then took my bounty for weighing and
pressing. It turns out that you need at
least a kilo of olives to produce a tiny 250ml bottle, so I just added mine to
the communal pool.
 |
| At the weigh in |
After a tour
of the pressing shed with Fiona, I moved on to some oil tasting, comparing oil from
early, middle and late pressings. Initially I thought they all tasted a bit green
and grassy, even medicinal, but it turns out that the bitterness is actually
sought after and a sign of both purity and richness in anti –oxidants and
phenols – the health giving components. If you have only tasted run -of -the -mill
super market varieties, tasting real virgin olive oil is an eye opener. Terroir,
climate, tree variety and processing all play a role and give each a unique character,
which is why chefs prefer it. These really brought out the flavour of the sourdough
bread and reminded me of the oil I had had at Fico, but it also tells me that with respect to olive oil my palate could do with a bit more education. Correct pairing of oil
with food, requires similar expertise to pairing wine. Read more about that here.
 |
| Olives ready to go into the press - don't worry, the machine removes all stalks and leaves and washes the olives before they go into the hopper. |
 |
| Glenn making sure the wheels keep turning |
Not all so –
called virgin olive oils are created equal. Find
out how to tell one from another here.
Genuine virgin olive oils are said to
have many health benefits including reducing the risk of stroke and heart
disease and may even be helpful in the
prevention of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. For more on evidence -based
health benefits of real olive oil, click here.
The best
thing about the day for me was the communal aspect -friends and neighbours
coming together for a common purpose. Neighbours from the Christmas Tree farm up the road, manned the gate and I ran into an old friend from my
own long distant back – to - the – land days. With olive oil production having
been around for about 5,000 years, it also felt as if we were taking part in an age
-old ritual.
For other
places in Tasmania where you could do some olive harvesting, oil tasting or buying, click
here. You taste buds will thank you!
Comments