Black Olive

All about the olive

The olive was first exported from southern Spain in the time of the Romans.

Today olive oil is one of Andalucía’s chief exports, earning the region millions of dollars a year.

Andalucía, which accounts for 75% of Spanish production, cultivates the most olives in the world. The province of Jáen alone produces more olive oil than all of Greece.

Estimated at providing more than seventy million workdays, it is widely accepted that Andalucía produces 20% of the world’s total olive oil production.

It all began in the days of the Romans, who acquired a taste for the oil coming from the western extremities of their empire.

It has since emerged that the first example of modern marketing began when different families exported their own brands of olive oil under a trademark or logo.

This was confirmed when archaeologists found remains of the pots complete with the same brand names in Rome.

Facts about the olive

The Olive tree is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and parts of Africa. The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm long. Olives are harvested at the green stage or left to ripen to a rich purple colour.
The olive tree and olives are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments.
Archaeological evidence found in the excavations at Monte Testaccio indicate that over a period of two hundred sixty years or so, Rome imported some six billion five hundred million litres of olive oil of olive oil, of which 85% was produced in Andalucia. Olive and olive oil production continued to grow during the Moorish occupation, surviving the ravages and devastation of many wars. Olives were later taken to the New World by Spanish settlers during the 16th and 17th centuries, and are now established in many former colonial areas, most notably California and South America.
The olive tree was introduced to Spain first by Phoenicians around 1050 BC, and again by the Greeks between 600-700 BC.
Later the Romans turned the production of olive oil into an industry supplying its empire with this precious commodity.
Archaeological evidence found at Monte Testaccio indicate that over a period of two hundred sixty years or so, Rome imported some six billion five hundred million litres of olive oil, of which 85% was produced in Andalucía. Olive and olive oil production continued to grow during the Moorish occupation, surviving the ravages and devastation of many wars.
The fall of the Roman Empire led to the decline of olive production in most of Europe, but southern Spain was to see an increase in cultivation with the arrival of the Arabs, who brought with them new varieties and different production techniques.
Olives were taken to the New World by Spanish settlers during the 16th and 17th centuries, and are now established in many former colonial areas, most notably California and South America.
It is estimated that there are over 215 million olive trees in Spain, of which 165 millon are in Andalucia; of those, 50% are in Jaén and 30% in Córdoba.
Spain, as a whole, is the world´s number one producer of olive oil, yielding on average over 1.3 million metric tons per year, 50 per cent of total world production.
Green olives and black olives are washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a bitter carbohydrate. Sometimes they are also soaked in a solution of food grade sodium hydroxide in order to accelerate the process.
At a recent meeting in Jaen, Spain’s centre of oil production, 300 scientists from around the world hailed the health-giving properties of olive oil.
Scientists praised its positive effect on aging as well as fostering strong bone development. It is also seen as a key weapon in warding off Alzheimer’s, cardio-vascular ailments and cancer.
It is hard to believe but there is a GPS co-ordinate on record for every single commercial olive tree in Andalucia. That’s how serious the olive production industry is in southern Spain. And with EU subsidies funding this industry we should hardly expect less than tight control. A group of farmers who recently tried to fool authorities by planting sticks and then filing for subsidies, didn’t get very far!
Nowadays, olive growing is the main industry of large parts of Andalucía, giving it the alternative name The Olive Country.

About the Author

Paul Whitelock is an honours graduate in Spanish and German, a former UK languages teacher and retired Ofsted school inspector. For the last eight years he has spent his time between Ronda, Spain and Warrington, UK. Since taking early retirement in 2005 he has renovated two houses in Ronda, one in Luxembourg and two in the UK. He now lives in the Serranía de Ronda in Andalucía and is a freelance journalist, translator and Plan B consultant. He can be contacted by email at paulwhitelock@hotmail.com or by telephone on (+34) 636 52 75 16.

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