Olivos de Oro

Decades back, the Sacramento Valley produced olives commercially. I imagine that the fruit did well in the hot climate, and that Mediterranean families planted them in droves. But as many things in the central valley do, they fell the way of industrialization. The farms left are few and far between. The fact that Davis roads are now flanked with olive trees are a testament to those times. Relics of a former incarnation, the Davis trees now beg for foragers to relieve their heavy limbs. 

Last weekend, Damian and I joined other sustainable ag students in an olive harvest. The snap shot at left is the top of one of our bags (for all you Ortlieb pannier fans, they work fantastically as picking satchels). He and I picked just over a hundred pounds of olives, and then headed with the group to the press of Mike Madison, a local farmer who traded us the use of his press for a portion of the oil it will become. Again I am in awe of the simple pleasure of creating a seemingly intangible food product. Oil. Our hundred pounds will equal between one and two gallons of it. If petroleum oil is black gold, then what is olive oil? I would say liquid gold, but unfortunately the industry has also assumed that name. Keep it simple. Olivos de Oro. Oro de Olivos. Olives of Gold. Gold of Olives.