The olive tree around the world, a wonderful trip for this summer - Part I
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  • The olive tree around the world, a wonderful trip for this summer - Part I

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Olive trees in Hawaii? Of course. And also in Australia, Canada, Germany or Japan. These are some of the wonderful landscapes of the olive grove in which to take refuge in times of COVID-19.

At present, the olive tree is present in 67 countries on the five continents, professionally and industrially, even though in a more amateur way we can also find it in places such as the United Kingdom, Germany or Canada. Therefore, in one way or another, the more than 11.5 million hectares of olive groves that cover the planet extend to all those corners that the orography, climate and soil science allow. Next, we will delve into some of those places where, either due to its idiosyncrasy, circumstances or simply because of its location, the presence of the olive tree is at least interesting, exotic and suggestive.

 

 

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St Helena Island in Australia is located in Moreton Bay, 5 km away. from the mouth of the Brisbane River and about 8 km. northeast of Manly. The 166-hectare island has a fascinating history.

Its most significant time was when it functioned as a high security colonial prison, since 1867 and reserved for long-term inmates. The prisoners had to grow and obtain their own food, selling products to buy goods and equipment. Surprisingly, one of their most popular products was the extra virgin olive oil obtained by themselves from olive trees exploited and cultivated in the prison. Everything that was left over was exported directly to Italy.

In the 1920s it was decided to transform the prison into a farm; in fact, there is a variety of olive tree called helena, very similar to the frantoio, which still retains the memory of the prison. Its oil, especially tasty for its texture and flavor, won the first international agricultural award in Australia. To this day, the olive trees still bear fruit on the island, in memory of those captive olive growers.

 

 

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For its part, Maui belongs to the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands (USA). With a total area of 1,880 km2 and a population of 120,000 inhabitants, it is the second largest island in the archipelago and is known for the fertility of its lands.

Finding in a subtropical climate destined for avocados, papayas and other exotic fruits a suitable terrain for the olive grove is not easy due to the weather, since low and high temperatures are needed, at the same time that the permanent Hawaiian humidity damages the olive trees. However, the stretch from Upper Olinda to Kamaole in Keokea on the island of Maui was perfect. Thus, since 2008, more than 10,000 one-foot olive trees of the arbosana, cerasuola and picholine varieties have inhabited this area, in plantation frames usually 6 x 3 meters, some rainfed and others irrigated in support, in order to provide support. to cultivation in the most arid lands. In 2015, the first EVOOs produced in Hawaii were obtained, green, spicy, fruity oils with a robust and complex flavor.

The complexity and robustness of these juices is due, above all, to a dry or semi-desert climate, volcanic lands and an altitude that ranges between 500 and 1,100 meters above sea level. The result is extra virgins that constitute a true culinary pleasure, extracted in a traditional way, as well as the collection of the fruits, which gives them an extra differentiation.

 

 

Unique EVOOs in the world

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Salt Spring (Canada), in the Straits of Georgia, is one of the islands in the Gulf between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Since 2001, after various failures and tests with different varieties, frantoio and leccino olives have been cultivated, dedicated, in principle, to table olives, although their use has gradually spread to the production of olive oil -the first plantation was of 30 ha. and a thousand olive trees.

Currently, this exploitation has 2,500 plants and a surface area of 75 ha, in addition to its own oil mill located above the 46th parallel -exactly at 48º47 ”-, the northernmost on the planet and surpassing the 46º” barrier, at just over 3,000 km. from Alaska.

It is the only place in Canada that enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with more sun and less rain than the surrounding areas, obtaining extra virgin olive oils with a touch of tomato, aromas of fig trees and freshly cut grass, powerful texture and a Retronasal and mouthfeel that make them unique in the world, thanks to their special attributes.

 

 

 

Source: Mercacei

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