ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



55 



Before making the second pressing the pomace is 

 again crushed and is then placed in a large press which 

 exerts a pressure of about two hundred pounds to the 

 square inch. This is followed by another crushing and 

 pressing, the pomace having been previously heated so 

 as to cause it to more readily release the oil. Previous 

 to placing the pomace in the press again, however, it is 

 worked up by the rollers. The oil and water from the 

 presses is run into settling tanks. Here the oil remains 

 for forty-eight hours, when it is skimmed off into storage 

 tanks, remaining in same until ready for racking. These 

 tanks are usually built of galvanized iron, although some 

 of the large olive oil concerns use glass lined tanks for 

 storage purposes. After the oil stands in the tanks for 

 six months it is ready for bottling. The oil goes through 

 a sort of fermentation during this time, and all impuri- 

 ties settle to the bottom. Before marketing the oil is 

 filtered through several thicknesses of filtering paper 

 to still further clarify it. California oil makers take 

 great pride in the purity of their goods, and the oil can 

 be relied upon as strictly pure just as represented. 



RIPE OLIVES FOR HOME CONSUMPTION 



Place olives in any wooden receptacle or earthen jar. 

 Cover them with water, being careful to use water 

 which has been cooled by the night air. After one day's 

 soaking in this water draw it off and cover the olives 

 with water in which two and one-half ounces of lye to 

 the gallon of water have been dissolved. After pouring 

 this over the olives stir them carefully for fifteen min- 

 utes, and after that every half hour. If after fourteen 

 hours the lye solution becomes neutralized, slowly add 

 lye at the rate of one-half ounce to each gallon of water. 

 Allow the olives to remain in the solution until pene- 

 trated half way through. Draw the lye solution off and 

 wash olives thoroughly until the water is clear. Change 

 water twice daily for four days. Treat olives again as 

 before until penetrated almost to the pit. Rinse as be- 

 fore, and immerse olives in fresh water, changing twice 

 daily until all trace of lye is removed. Now, cover 

 olives with a brine made by dissolving four ounces of 

 salt to the gallon of water, changing the same every 

 four days for twelve days, being careful not to increase 

 the strength of the brine. Draw off old brine and re- 

 place with new, gradually increasing its strength until 

 it is up to eight ounces of salt to the gallon of water, 

 when the olives will be ready for the table. It takes 

 fully six weeks to cure them by this method. Use a good 

 grade of half-ground salt. 



COMMERCIAL PACK 



Olives are soaked in a three-ounce brine for a week, 

 until fermentation sets in, as less time is then required in 

 processing. This is followed up by placing them in a 

 vat and covering with a solution containing two and 

 one-quarter ounces of lye to one gallon of water. While 

 in this solution the olives should be stirred occasionally 

 and they should remain until the lye has penetrated to 

 within one-third of the pit. This takes from ten to 

 eighteen hours, depending upon the condition of the 

 fruit. Draw the lye off and replace with a four ounce 

 brine for forty-eight hours. Never use fresh water at 



this time of the processing. Draw off brine and expose 

 to the air for a period of four days until the olives be- 

 come darkened and the flesh takes on a brown shade 

 to the pit. Now cover again with a solution containing 

 one .ounce of lye and three ounces of salt for a period of 

 twenty-four hours, and stir as before. Draw off liquid 

 and expose for two days until color is set. Should 

 olives be bitter, treat again with the lye and salt solu- 

 tion abo'ut the same period, exposing as before. Follow 

 this up, covering the olives with fresh water until the 

 lye is out, changing the same five or six times the first 

 day and daily after that until all trace of lye is removed. 

 Then cover with a six-ounce brine for five days or 

 longer without changing until by tasting they give indi- 

 cations of having taken the salt. They are now ready 

 for canning. This brine should not be changed until 

 the olives are canned, when a fresh brine, containing 

 four ounces of salt to a gallon should be used. 



CANNING RIPE OLIVES 



After, the olives are in cans they are run through an 

 open exhaust, lids off, registering 212 degrees Fahren- 

 heit. Gallon cans are given eight minutes, two-pound 

 cans three minutes. The olives are then placed in boil- 

 ing water and are cooked as follows: gallon cans fifteen 

 minutes, two-pound cans eight to ten minutes. If the 

 olives are firm and can stand a longer cook, it is advis- 

 able to give them all they will stand, for if not properly 

 cooked the cans will swell. The length of time for 

 cooking depends on the fruit, so that no fixed rule can 

 be laid down for their treatment. This must be deter- 

 mined by the man in charge. 



IRRIGATING 



It is quite true that olives do not require as much 

 water as the orange; nevertheless, it would be the 

 greatest mistake in the .world to attempt to raise oh' ves, 

 for either pickles or for making oil, without irrigation. 

 The first season irrigate the trees at least four times, 

 and if they give indications of being dry, the leaves turn- 

 ing yellow and curling, do not hesitate to apply the 

 water again. It is not necessary to irrigate the entire 

 space between the trees but if a back furrow is thrown 

 up, about three feet on each side of the row of trees and 

 the water is run in the furrow and made to cover the 

 ground confined within the furrows by checking, the 

 trees will receive all the water they require. Thorough 

 cultivation is essential after each irrigation; if growers 

 would only give more attention to the cultivating, in 

 many instances irrigating so frequently would not be 

 necessary. After the trees are four years old the entire 

 space between the rows must be irrigated. Under 

 average conditions and with proper attention to the 

 stirring of the soil, three irrigations are ample for a 

 grove in the interior valleys of the state. There are two 

 irrigations which are important after the trees come 

 into bearing. The first one should take place in April 

 just before the trees come into bloom. This occurs in 

 the latter part of April or in early May. If the rainfall 

 has been ample and the soil is well charged with mois- 

 ture, this irrigation may be dispensed with. The olive 

 commences to ripen in October. Therefore they should 



