Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites. Here in the Washington, DC area I have not
seen any, just some small, inexpensive canned ones that seemed pretty
bland to me. But then I have not hunted around very hard for them,
and maybe the better California olives just don't get marketed this
far east.

I have heard it said the large California producers grow them for the
processed food industry (frozen pizzas and the like) but are having a
hard time competing against imported olives even though the imports
are said to be of a type more suitable for making olive oil than
eating, and that they want some protection against imports. Also,
that the large producers can't compete against small "boutique"
producers in California when it comes to high quality eating olives.

While I am at it, can anyone recommend a good California extra virgin
oil that might get sold in the east. I have seen a couple brands here
in the East at Trader Joe's, but I have to confess to not having tried
any, having been satisfied with Greek or Italian imports available
here. Of course, it is getting harder and harder to be sure that you
are buying Italian oil, especially if you are relying on the fact that
the brand you buy has an Italian name, an Italian flag, or the flag's
colors on. More and more, many of such label say "may contain oil
from Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, etc.." I guess what I am seeing
is the brands of U.S. companies who import the oil in bulk from where
ever and bottle it here.

Richard Kennedy

"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites. Here in the Washington, DC area I have not
seen any, just some small, inexpensive canned ones that seemed pretty
bland to me. But then I have not hunted around very hard for them,
and maybe the better California olives just don't get marketed this
far east.


You want to try Graber olives, which are naturally tree-ripened
and virtually unique in their rich buttery taste and textu
http://www.graberolives.com/
and for more conventional types of olives those from Santa
Barbara Olive House are excellent.
http://www.sbolive.com/
None of these are quite the pungent Greek cure, however;
perhaps some other poster knows of California olives that
compare.

pavane

Graber olives. Best olives I can find anywhere.

http://www.graberolives.com/

Paul

"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites. Here in the Washington, DC area I have not
seen any, just some small, inexpensive canned ones that seemed pretty
bland to me. But then I have not hunted around very hard for them,
and maybe the better California olives just don't get marketed this
far east.

I have heard it said the large California producers grow them for the
processed food industry (frozen pizzas and the like) but are having a
hard time competing against imported olives even though the imports
are said to be of a type more suitable for making olive oil than
eating, and that they want some protection against imports. Also,
that the large producers can't compete against small "boutique"
producers in California when it comes to high quality eating olives.

While I am at it, can anyone recommend a good California extra virgin
oil that might get sold in the east. I have seen a couple brands here
in the East at Trader Joe's, but I have to confess to not having tried
any, having been satisfied with Greek or Italian imports available
here. Of course, it is getting harder and harder to be sure that you
are buying Italian oil, especially if you are relying on the fact that
the brand you buy has an Italian name, an Italian flag, or the flag's
colors on. More and more, many of such label say "may contain oil
from Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, etc.." I guess what I am seeing
is the brands of U.S. companies who import the oil in bulk from where
ever and bottle it here.

Richard Kennedy

"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites. Here in the Washington, DC area I have not
seen any, just some small, inexpensive canned ones that seemed pretty
bland to me. But then I have not hunted around very hard for them,
and maybe the better California olives just don't get marketed this
far east.

I have heard it said the large California producers grow them for the
processed food industry (frozen pizzas and the like) but are having a
hard time competing against imported olives even though the imports
are said to be of a type more suitable for making olive oil than
eating, and that they want some protection against imports. Also,
that the large producers can't compete against small "boutique"
producers in California when it comes to high quality eating olives.

While I am at it, can anyone recommend a good California extra virgin
oil that might get sold in the east. I have seen a couple brands here
in the East at Trader Joe's, but I have to confess to not having tried
any, having been satisfied with Greek or Italian imports available
here. Of course, it is getting harder and harder to be sure that you
are buying Italian oil, especially if you are relying on the fact that
the brand you buy has an Italian name, an Italian flag, or the flag's
colors on. More and more, many of such label say "may contain oil
from Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, etc.." I guess what I am seeing
is the brands of U.S. companies who import the oil in bulk from where
ever and bottle it here.

Richard Kennedy

I highly recommend McEvoy oil from California. It is in the style of the
best Tuscan oils and is better than many of them. Expensive, though. But you
should not make the mistake of judging an oil by where it comes from.
There's a lot of poor oil from Italy and excellent oil from Spain, Greece,
etc.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites.

Ripe olives only come from California. There is no way to compare them with
pickled, salt or oil cured olives from elsewhere. However, you can get very
good California Ripe olives as well as the Mediterranean styles of olives in
California. Unfortunately these come from small processors. Some suggestions
have been posted here. My favorite is from Strathmore Olives. Mostly
available in Central California. It is a small family business.

Charlie

On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 08:37:37 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
wrote:


"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites.

Ripe olives only come from California. There is no way to compare them with
pickled, salt or oil cured olives from elsewhere. However, you can get very
good California Ripe olives as well as the Mediterranean styles of olives in
California. Unfortunately these come from small processors. Some suggestions
have been posted here. My favorite is from Strathmore Olives. Mostly
available in Central California. It is a small family business.

Charlie

Chaz, where would we find Strathmore?



Practice safe eating - always use condiments

"sf" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 08:37:37 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
wrote:


"Richard M. Kennedy" wrote in message
...

Are there any California ripe eating olives that you would compare in
quality to imported olives, particularly those from, say, Greece,
which are my favorites.

Ripe olives only come from California. There is no way to compare them
with
pickled, salt or oil cured olives from elsewhere. However, you can get
very
good California Ripe olives as well as the Mediterranean styles of
olives in
California. Unfortunately these come from small processors. Some
suggestions
have been posted here. My favorite is from Strathmore Olives. Mostly
available in Central California. It is a small family business.

Charlie

Chaz, where would we find Strathmore?

25 miles southeast of Visalia. Or coming from SR 99, 25 miles east from
Tulare on SR 65. There is also an excellent bakery making the best
fruitcake I've ever eaten located in Strathmore. It is also 5 miles south of
Lindsay where Lindsay Ripe Olive Co. used to be located. You can now drive
through and see the hundreds of people living in poverty who used to work
for Lindsay Ripe before it was purchased by a large corporation and moved
north. Other than these cheering items, there is no other reason to visit
the hell hole.

Strathmore olives do appear in some stands along SR 99 and in a few farmer's
markets.

Charlie