Table olives can be eaten as green (slightly under-ripe) or as black (ripe) fruit. Both green and black are the same olive, picked at different stages of maturity. Unlike many other types of fruit, olives cannot be eaten directly from the tree.

 

In the Hunter Valley harvesting typically takes place from late February to early June. Timing depends on the variety and whether the fruit is to be processed green or black. As the fruit ripens it slowly changes colour from a bright green through a yellow-green, through shades of pink and violet eventually to a rich black or purple colour.  

 

Most oil fruit is now picked by mechanical harvesting. Traditionally, table olives have been picked by hand to avoid bruising the fruit. Recent advances in harvester technology will enable an increasing proportion of table fruit to be picked mechanically.

 

Once picked the first stage of processing is to remove the bitterness. At Hunter Olives we believe this should be done by natural and traditional methods rather than the industrial techniques (often using caustic soda) that are commonplace overseas. Our fruit is slowly cured in a salt-brine solution over several months. We do not use any caustic soda in the de-bittering process. The traditional method takes longer but we believe it produces a much better flavour and texture and helps retain the goodness that can be lost from other, more intrusive processing methods.

 

Once de-bittered we will either package the fruit in a brine solution with a little olive oil or we may process it further in a range of marinades, as noted elsewhere.