Olive Oil From the Land of . . . . Georgia?

This was news to me. There are actually farmers in southern Georgia (some 20 miles east of I-75) who are hoping to find a market for olive oil produced from olives grown on their farmland.

As it turns out, olive groves used to exist in this area of Georgia, but a hurricane more than a century ago destroyed what had been left of dwindling olive trees. In this article, the Washington Post explained what prompted one of the farmers to start growing olives:

Generations of Shaw family farmers in Lanier County have grown cotton, peanuts and corn. But in 1996, Lakeland (Georgia) native Jason Shaw returned from a trip to Verona, Italy, where he had been struck by the sight of prolific orchards, and said, "We ought to grow olives in Georgia."

... Now 12 farmers and a small army of extension service agents and horticulturalists are tending 95 acres, spread over seven Georgia counties south of Atlanta that fall in the South's "olive belt," a zone with a climate conducive to growing the cold-resistant types.

I look forward to tasting Georgia olive oil. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

The Lovable Olive

I love olives, whether it's eating them before dinner or adding them to a dish I am making. The Italian deli 15 minutes north uses real calamata olives on pizzas (if you order one "with olives"). Absolutely marvelous.

I found this website, Ode to Olives, created by someone who shares my affinity for olives. And I also stumbled on this web page with lots of info about olives, including the many varieties of olives that are out there.

Did you know why green olives are green? According to this web page, it's because they are deliberately picked before they're ripe.

I love picholine olives. They have a slight bitterness and a briny flavor that is really nice. I have one disagreement with the web page, which says that Moroccan oil-cured olives are "best used for cooking rather than snacking." I think they are equally yummy.