Frank Cimino shares some tips on growing good olives. By Liane Arno
IN A rare fit of anger, Matt threw down his paring knife and declared, “That is the last olive I am ever going to pickle.”
In front of him was a huge jar of olives that he had religiously sliced a small cut to enable the brine in which they were immersed to take away their bitterness. Not only had he laboriously slit every one of the olives he was now ‘looking forward’ to a daily regime of changing the water until he could then separate them out into smaller sterilised jars and then immerse them in oil.
Sound familiar?
IN A rare fit of anger, Matt threw down his paring knife and declared, “That is the last olive I am ever going to pickle.”
In front of him was a huge jar of olives that he had religiously sliced a small cut to enable the brine in which they were immersed to take away their bitterness. Not only had he laboriously slit every one of the olives he was now ‘looking forward’ to a daily regime of changing the water until he could then separate them out into smaller sterilised jars and then immerse them in oil.
Sound familiar?
The following year we were on a walk of exploration and found that we were not the only ones who had thought to grow olive trees in the sandy soil of Wonthaggi. Many olives were already ripe and had dropped to the ground. I just about weep every time I see fruit going to waste and said to Matt, “Why don’t we ask this house if we can pick the olives and pickle them?” For some reason Matt chose not to reply but instead gave me a look that suggested it would not be a good idea to raise the matter again – regardless of how many trees burdened with plump ripe olives we passed by.
We are not sure how many olive trees are in Wonthaggi but if you don’t have one in the garden you probably know of someone in the street who does.
It is likely that many were planted by Italians who migrated after the Second World War. Tom Gannon wrote in the Powlett Express in the 1950s: “It was hard times during the war, but once it was over, the Italians were the migrants of choice entering Australia to fulfil the new policies of economic development for this country. Italians then poured into Wonthaggi and through their industriousness and hard work added much to the dynamics of this town.”
According to the 2016 census, 5.1 per cent of the Wonthaggi population still claim Italian ancestry, compared with 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.
All of these olive trees – so much fruit left rotting on the ground. The nonnas would be turning in their graves!
We are not sure how many olive trees are in Wonthaggi but if you don’t have one in the garden you probably know of someone in the street who does.
It is likely that many were planted by Italians who migrated after the Second World War. Tom Gannon wrote in the Powlett Express in the 1950s: “It was hard times during the war, but once it was over, the Italians were the migrants of choice entering Australia to fulfil the new policies of economic development for this country. Italians then poured into Wonthaggi and through their industriousness and hard work added much to the dynamics of this town.”
According to the 2016 census, 5.1 per cent of the Wonthaggi population still claim Italian ancestry, compared with 3.2 per cent of the Australian population.
All of these olive trees – so much fruit left rotting on the ground. The nonnas would be turning in their graves!
| Prune 'em hard!  "When it comes to pruning, the rougher you treat an olive tree the better. You want fewer olives – but bigger ones with more oil. "We went to Italy a few years ago and there were olive trees growing in rocks. They would have been 500 years old. They had only left a few branches on, and they were getting beautiful big olives.” "Now's the right time to prune before they start to flower. "Start by cutting out the middle to let the sun and air in, and cut out any branches that are growing straight up or too tall for you to pick the fruit. Shorten the fruiting branches and cut out every second twig. - Frank Cimino, renowned for having one of the best Italian gardens in Wonthaggi. | So then we thought about making olive oil. We read that to make oil at home is an energy-intensive task and without the right specialist equipment, which is out of reach for most home gardeners or foragers, is time consuming for very little oil produced. Not to be deterred, we engaged our dear friend Ian Hitchings, a remarkable man who can turn his hand to anything. He started to make a prototype using a hydraulic press that had at one time or other been a part of the mine works. What can I say we all got splattered with purple mash and only enough oil to make the removal of it from our clothes problematical. Understandably commercial olive oil producers are reluctant to offer their equipment to use for short runs – particularly as the season is short for their own production needs. So we went in search of the right equipment. Of course we found it in Italy! In rough terms you put in 10 kilos of olives at one end (about a shopping bag full) and take out one litre of olive oil out the other. We have ordered a machine that can turn the olives into liquid gold at the rate of around 50 kilos an hour, or five litres of oil. That means we have capacity to spare for no charge to our local residents. We have been fortunate to have been invited by Italian friends to traditional salami making in the midst of winter. Our idea is that olive oil production can be another way for the people of Wonthaggi to get together with their family, friends, and neighbours. What a wonderful way to acknowledge the industriousness of Wonthaggi’s migrants. |
The Rescue Station committee has kindly offered the venue. It fits in so nicely with their mission statement which covers the key areas of art, history and sustainability. After all, cooking is an art form, the picking of the olives enhances local history and the invigoration of the olive trees will be sustainable.
So – what do you have to do? Get pruning your olive trees now to get the most fruit. Frank Cimino tells us, “Prune them hard.” The season for fruit picking is May/June. To get the best results fruit must be straight from the tree and be fresh.
If you are interested in creating your own olive oil, please email us at [email protected].
As it gets closer to harvest time we will be in touch about next steps. And when we do get to harvest – please remember those who planted them.
So – what do you have to do? Get pruning your olive trees now to get the most fruit. Frank Cimino tells us, “Prune them hard.” The season for fruit picking is May/June. To get the best results fruit must be straight from the tree and be fresh.
If you are interested in creating your own olive oil, please email us at [email protected].
As it gets closer to harvest time we will be in touch about next steps. And when we do get to harvest – please remember those who planted them.