Olives in Portugal

Useful Information

  Food & Drink in Portugal

Olives (azeitonas) are a major part of the Portuguese diet and as such there are a plethora of Olive trees dotted across the entire countryside.

Most Portuguese homes with a garden or land will have one or more Olive tree to ensure home owners can create their own barrels of olives to be eaten through the year and to create the all important Olive Oil (Azeite).

Olive trees it is believed, were introduced to Portugal by the Romans and they have flourished ever since with both the fruit and the subsequent oil produced from the fruit being tasty and popular prerequisites to the Portuguese diet.

Olive trees are evergreen but do shed their silver grey leaves at intervals through the seasons, though not all at once. Olives are very hardy tree and are resistant to drought, disease and fire thanks to the tight root ball they have.

It is also thanks to this dense root ball olive trees, even old, mature ones, can be moved. It is  common in Portugal for mature olive trees to be relocated, not cut down, in the event of a building being constructed.

To move Olive trees though it is best tackled in the autumn after the harvest. You will need to heavily prune the tree prior to uprooting as well as the services of a digger driver to lift the tree from it's resting place and transport it to it's new location.

Remember if you are moving an Olive tree you will need to ensure it gets plenty of water to the root ball for the first six months and it can be a fine balance between sufficient water and over watering. Spraying the tree itself will also help speed up it's recovery from the shock of being moved.

Olive trees can live for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years and take on a gnarled appearance. It is believed one of the oldest Olive trees in the world is located in the Algarve, Portugal. The tree, which has been carbon dated, is said to be 2,000 years old.

Harvesting and Preparing Olives for the Table in Portugal

However unlike other fruit, olives need to be prepared before they are palatable. Olives are usually harvested in the autumn, from September sometimes through until November. The usual method of harvesting the olives is to lay large nets around the base of the Olive trees and then shake the fruit from the branches. The olives are then laid out and sorted, taking out leaves and branches.

On larger estates in Portugal where there are hundreds of olive trees the olive harvest is done by mechanical means with special machines to shake and strip the olives from the trees.

Olives destined for the dining table are stored in large, non-metallic containers in fresh water. They are kept in these containers in a cool, dark place for around three weeks, changing the water when necessary, to remove any impurities and to make the olives less bitter to taste.

The impurities will rise to the surface and utilising a traditional wooden paddle you can scrap this off. Take care not to use any metallic instruments as this will tarnish the taste of the olives.

The olives can then be pickled and jarred using a multitude of recipes or kept au natural in a brine solution for up to six months. Remember to keep the olives in a cool, dark place though to ensure you have sufficient supplies until the next harvest.