OLIVE'S ANATOMY

The olive tree is traditionally Mediterranean specie adapted for the climate of the zone. It's a specie presented in the landscape of the Iberian Peninsula like an other element in the Mediterranean ecosystem and in the culture.
It's sensitive to the frosts, but it can support 10 Cº under zero. High temperatures are damagind during the flowering period. The olive trees development it's better in zones with abundant rains, between 600-800 mm/year.

-Flowers:

The olive tree flowers arrange in bunches of 10 to 40 flowers. The pollination of the stamens consist in the trasference of pollen contained in others stamens of a flower to the stigma of the same flower, or more frequently in the olive to other flowers.

- The "veceria"In the olive tree happens a phenomenon called "veceria" (spanish) that it consists that in one year of abundant harvest of olive, the next will have a small harvest. We don't know the cause that it produce it, and that it's the reason why we haven't got a strategy to control it.- The fruitThe fruit of the olive tree is the olive. In the olive you can distinguish the next parts:- The stalk- The flesh- The bone- The stone- The seedThe olive changes her colurs the time that it grows. First it is a intense green and at the same time it grows it changes the colous, finally it is a bluish black colour.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF OLIVES

Olives have been eaten for centuries. From ancient Greece to modern times, olives and olive oil have been a staple of the Mediterranean diet. Today, Spain is the leading producer of olives with roughly 35% of the world's annual production. There are almost 300 regional variations in Spain alone, each with a unique flavor and appearance according to the fruit's ripeness when picked and how the olives are cured.


Manzanilla

The most popular Spanish green olives, originating from Andalucia. Manzanillas are light green and have an abundance of flesh. Often they are stuffed with any number of ingredients. A small to medium size olive, produced in Spain and California, that is greenish brown in color and oval shaped. It is brine-cured and has firm textured meat providing a slight almond flavor and may be a little bitter or smoky tasting. Generally pitted, this olive is often stuffed with garlic or pimento. Also known as a Manzanillo or Spanish olive.



Arbequina

The typical olive of the Catalonia region, arbequinas derive their name from the village of Arbeca in the province of Lerida. A small olive ranging in color from a light to dark brown and noted for a nutty flavor. Traditionally, these olives are served as an appetizer marinated with garlic cloves, thyme and other spices. Often served alongside pan tumaca, oven-roasted bread slices spread with tomato and olive oil.

Nicoise

The nicoise olives come from French and they represent a specie of black olives which are consumed when they ar fully ripe. The size of the nicoise olives is rather small and they have a mellow flavor and a firm, yet juicy flesh. Due to the fact that their size is small and the pip is rather big, there is a little flesh in 1 olive. Still, thies type of olives is among the most famous French olives and they are used for various traditional specialties. These olives have around 250 calories per 100 grams and they are full of vitamins. especially the E vitamin, which is found in a quantity of 8 grams per 100 grams of nicoise olives. This type of olives is consumed with many herbs and spices in numerous salads, made of greens and vegetables. Even more, the nicoise olives are used in the French cuisines as a filling or side dish for light sandwiches, made of white puffy bread and white cheese whith lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

OLIVE OIL

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The most commonly used and heard of olive oil is extra virgin. Extra virgin, along with the standard virgin olive oil, is extracted directly from the olive fruit by grinding the olives in thermal conditions which preserves the natural taste. The method for extracting the oil is what is known as “cold pressed,” which keeps the oil from losing its flavor that can be lost when exposed to high temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is produced naturally, meaning that the oil is not made from any sort of chemical treatments. Virgin oil is also an indication that the oil is not refined, that they are of a higher quality and retain their natural flavor.

Pure olive oil

It is another oil, but the name can be misleading. Pure is actually a blend of either extra virgin or virgin olive oil and olive oils that are refined. It is used mainly when extracted olive oil is of poor quality and the refining process helps it to have a better flavor.Many times, refined olive oil is used when frying as the taste is not as remarkable as the virgin oils. A product labeled simply Olive Oil, is nearly the same as something marked Pure Olive Oil in that it is refined with lack of taste.

Virgin Olive Oil
It also comes from the first pressing, and is also produce without refining. In a technical sense, virgin olive oil may have an acidity level of up to 3,3%, however, industry practice in the producing countries is to maintain under 2% acidity. Its flavour intensity can vary and its taste is less mild than extra virgin olive oil.

Olive Pomace Oil
it's the lowest grade of olive-based oils. Pomace is that part of the olive that remains after all the oil and water in it has been removed bt pressuring or centrifuging processes. With the use of the certain solvents, there is still some residual oil that can be extracted frome the olive pomace. This oil may then be refined, wich results in a product bereft of any specific taste or colour, it also contains none of olive oil's vitamins.

Lite Oil
There are certain light-tasting, light-coloured oils containing minute proportions, if at all, of virgin oils. These are pure rectified oils called lite oils. They are being marketed with a particular stant that would have people believe that they are buying oils that have lower in fat or calorie content. The truth is, lite oils have 125 calories per tablespoon, exactly like all olive oils, and all fats, for that matter.In general olive oil is a good source of vitamin E and is rich in monounsaturated fats. However, extra virgin oil has the highest contest levels of these healthful nutrients and has the most exquisite flavours. It should come as no wonder that extra virgin olive oil is know as the queen of oils.

BOTANIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE OLIVE TREE

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: magnoliophyta

Class: magnoliopsida

Order: Lamiales

Family: Oleaceae

Genus: Olea

Species: O. europaea

Binomial name: Olea europaea L.

BLOSOMING AND FRUIT HEARING SEASONS

The flowers begin to bloom from ends of March, but hte real flowers appear in April and May, though the most abundant blooms in the first month. His period of fructification is included between September and December but in Juen we already have formed the first olives with a very small size. During the summer and the autumn, the fruits are increasing of size and and changing the greeen color to the black. The fruit size that it can obtain depends on the quantity of rains of this year.


Depending on the species, we can find trees that can bie collected from November. The withdrawal of the olive is produced normally from November until February. Formerly, when they were retiring to hand, it was extending until March.

Traditionally, the olives were maturing in the tree until they were falling down in the soil. Then they were retiring by hand or with the thorns roller, they were transpoprted to home where they were cleaned to take from them the leaves, branches, stones and land. Today, those works are in use for pichk up them. These methods are too long and it alter the acids and the acidity of the olive, producing oil of minor quality. Nowadays there is tried that all this process realizes in one only day.

COMPOSITION ANALISIS OF THE OLIVE

Practice 1: Determination of the quantity of water

All living beings are made in a big percentage by water. To determine the percentage of content in water of the olives we will continue the following steps:
We take 2 olives, we weight, we cut (for it evaporate more fast) and we put in a container to dry them later.
Fresh weight: 8.8 gr.

We put the container with the 2 olives on a stove and we leave during a week to that dries off well:
Dry weight: 4.4 gr.

Difference of weigh will correspond:4.4 gr.

Calculate now the percentage of water that possess the olives:--> 50% water




Practice 2: Determination of reductors glucids

The glucids are the main substances staring of the plants and they catch the energy to do their vital functions. Between the glucids there are sweets and polysaccharides. In this practice we are going to guess thought chemical methods of sugar present in the olive pulp.
1- We catch one olive, we get out the pulp.
2- We cut the pulp in small pieces and we put it in a recipient.
3- We crush it with a mortero.
4- Then we put water to make it in more fluid.
5- We put the paste in a glass tube.
6- With one pipette we put two cm3 of Fehling A in a glass tube.
7- In these glass tube we put 2 cm3 of Fehling B, and we obtain a blue mixture.
8- These solution is put in a glass tube with the olive and we mix it.
9- Then we heat the mixture with a gas lighter.
10- If the mixture become red is by the presence of the reductors glucids (glucose).




Practice 3: determination of starch.


Besides the sugars in the plants there are polisacarid glucids as the starch, the substance that we're going to extract from the flesh. This substance is the reserve of many plants.

1.- To get a sample to compare we get a potato, that is very rich in starch. After cut it in a half and make incisions, we throw some drops of lugol. This colouring turns lilac the starch.(photo)

2.-We get now an olive, we take the pulp off and we crush it.

3.-Once the flesh of the olive is crushed, we throw some drops of lugol on it.(photo)

4.-Write your conclusions from your results.




Practice 4: Determination of protein.

To determine the presence of two proteins perform this experiments:

Reaction xantoproteic

1-Extracting oil from seeds of several bones.

2-Let them dry for a week

3-Take the dry seeds of olives and crushed them in a container.

4- Once crushed the cast in a test tube, add 1cm3 of concentrated
nitric acid(HNO3)

5-Heat the test tube with a cigarette lighter. If there are proteins, they
react with nitric acid and the sample will turn yellow

6-Write your result: becomes yellow because it has protein


Biuret reaction:

The name os the reaction is that because of the proteins and how them come into contact with soda forming a substance called biuret

1- take various seeds and dried crushed olives in a bowl.
2- Once crushed the cast in a test tube, add 1 cm3 of 20% sodium hydroxide. Biuret will be formed only if there are proteins.

3- Then add a few drops of cupric sulfate diluted to 1%
4- If the sample turns purple color that must be reacted with the biuret to cupric sulfate, demonstrating that protein.
5-Write your result: Turns color purple




Practice 5: determination of lipids


We do some proves:
Insolubility in water:
1. We take several olives and we cut into pieces the flesh in very small pieces.
2. We begin the flesh in a pipe of test and we add more or less 5cm3 of water (up to enrasate the pipe of test).
3. We wave the pipe to mix and we stop to rest.
4. Already quiet the mix we can observe how they have been formed a small yellow bubbles owed than the lipids are insoluble in the water and by minor desity they are on the water.




Solubility in Solvents organics:

1. We take the flesh of a olive and we cut it.
2. We begin the flesh in a pipe of test and we add more 2cm3 of ether.
3. We stop to rest the mix (ether with lipids) and we add in a sump of porcelain or glass.

Photo:
4. We evaporate the liquid to the fire and we obtain a bubbles of oil




Practice 6: Oil extraction


In this practice we compare with the process of an industrial oil mill in the oil extraction, but in the laboratory.

1-Crushing:
We take 100 olives and we remove the stone to them. We grind the pulp of the olives with a beater (in the industrial oil mill the olives crush with mills or metallic crushing machines). (photo)

2-Beaten:
We put a little cold water to them. Slowly, We remove it with a dessertspoon the paste, while we heat it. With that form the extraction of the oil will be easier. (photo)

3-Pressed:
We put a strainer on a precipitated glass. We spill carefully the paste on the strainer to separate the liquid of “orujo” (solid part). In the industrial oil mill the liquid of “orujo” separate with a system of presses or by centrifugation. (photos)

4-Decanation:
We leave in a place during one week so that separates by movement. The process have three different phases: first it is the oil, second is “alpechín” and third he is” orujo “remaining, all good differentiated at first. (photo)

5-Separation of the oil:
With a pipette, we extract carefully the oil and we putl it in a bottle or test tubes. (photo)


6-(Centrifugation:
Finally, we have to centrifuge this oil to finish of separating it of some remainders and that appeared clean.)




Practice 7: saponifcation's reaction

The saponification is a chemical reaction between a lipid and a base. The greasy acids of the lipids are difficult to hidrolice but they can be broken very easy if the lipid is in a basic enviroment.

Grease+soda→Glycerin + soap

1.- The original recipe for make soap recommends to use 6 l of oil and grease, 5 ½ l of water and 1kg of caustic soda(NaOH).

2.- However, as we have got few oil, we are going to remake the calculations to make soap with only 2 ml of oil.
To do it, start calculating the quantity of water that we're going to need in the relation with the oil:
(calculos )

Calculate now the quantity of soda in the relation with the water:

(calculos)


3.-Realise in a test tube the solution of soda and water with the calculated quantities. We remove it until the complete solution of soda.(photo)

4.- Later we add 2 ml of oil and we continue moving slowly until the soap is formed.(photo)

5.-We extract the soap of the tube and we put it in a Petri's plate and we model it like a bar and we wait until it finish solidifying .(photo)

6.-After extracting the soap we add water in the tube an we shake it. The abundance of lather indicates us that there is a bit of soap.(photo)

How to prepare olives to eat.

How we can prepare olives to eat?

Squashed green olives.

First we have to take the olives and we squash it, with a pestle, a stone, or with anything that it isn't very blunt, you don't have to squashe the bone, when they are squashed we have to put it in clear water and we change the water every day during 8-10 days, after that we change the water every day during 8-10 days, you will have squashed olives.
You can put 1000 types of dressing, fennel, garlics, etc...

Intact green olives.

During the 8-10 first day it's convenient changes it the water ( once or twice, after these days you have to take out of the water, you have to clean it good) every day, after it you have to put the water with 10% of salt, some of sorrels branchs and later you leave them, you will be able to eat them in 3-4 months and later they during every year.

Black olives

Equally you have to put them in with clear water during 8-10 days, only it's necessary change them the water once or twice, after these days you have to take them out of the water, you have to clean it good, with a hose and later you have to leave it lying in the sun one week, after it you have to put them another time in water with salt, 10 % of salt, a thyme branches and if it's possible with a shoot of carob, the carob make make that them keep hard, and after one month yuou will able to eat black olives.