Autumn in Italy! Grape harvest and wine making, olive picking and oil pressing. Ah, autumn in Italy! And right in our own backyard! Hubby is harvesting our olives the old-fashioned way. Hand-picked, one by one. He probably wouldn’t want to try it with a hundred trees, but with our two it’s not too bad.
Autumn in Italy! Grape harvest and wine making, olive gathering and oil pressing. Ah, this is autumn in Italy! And right in our own garden, at that! Hubby harvests our olives — the time-honored way. Hand-picked, one-by-one. He probably wouldn’t want to try it with a hundred trees, but with our two it’s not too bad.
Two olive-picking methods
- Picking them by hand and dropping them into a basket tied around the waist.
- Combing them from the branches with a special comb onto a net spread on the ground.
- Learn more here.
The olive comb or rake (like the one below) is usually plastic so it won’t damage or bruise the olives. And on a long handle for easy removal from the ground.
But for our two trees, hand picking works well. And we get enough olives for us and to give away! They’ll be ready around Christmas time. Because you have to cure olives before you can eat them. Freshly picked olives are too bitter to eat.
Our olives are the purple and green Leccino variety. They’re quite small and better for oil than for eating. But they’re also good to eat!
With proper curing, we get a pretty nice olive, 100% organic! And oh how we enjoy them!
- Wash the ripe, firm olives and let them dry a bit.
- Put them in jars and cover them with sea salt and water, about a 50/50 solution.
- How much salt? Put a raw egg in water and add salt until the egg starts to float.
- Leave them to cure, usually for a month or two.
- Seal the jars. No canning process is necessary because the salt preserves them.
- Add seasonings. Try lemon or orange zest, garlic or onion, and oregano.
But there are many recipes around for pickling olives. Like this one from Sicily that I’d love to try!
Picking olives by hand sounds like a lot of work. But you know, it’s really something special!
📷 Image credits: olive harvest net; ladder by Matteo X; others are mine
Signora Sheila 
8 responses to “Italy’s Autumn Harvest”
Thank you for the interesting lesson about olive harvesting and preserving, Sheila. I admire your husband’s patience, picking them by hand! I love olives. And nothing smells quite so good as onions and garlic simmering in olive oil. I also enjoy olive oil and red wine vinegar on my salads, especially since there’s no sugar or salt to worry about!
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Olive harvesting really is a fun experience. But of course, the end product is what we most look forward to! And oh yes, onions and garlic simmering in olive oil. Now you’ve made me hungry!!
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This sounds like an experience that ministers to body and soul alike! Grapes and olives–what a wonderful opportunity to see God’s good harvest!
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I never thought about that way, Dayle. But you’re right – nature always ministers to the soul!!
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Looks fun and sounds wonderful! I have one daughter who will eat the whole jar, once it is opened. She would love this.
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Oh Linda, a fellow olive lover! I’m sure your daughter would love Italy’s olives, and if possible, we’d love to share!!
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Oh, lovely! wish I were there, Sheila. Just realized I’ve been in Italy in winter, spring and summer, but never autumn.
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Then you must come Cynthia! I think autumn is the most special time here. After all, it’s really only in the Med nations where autumn life centers around grape and olive harvests. Sometimes even the hair dressers close as they are out picking those grapes or olives!
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