Why olive trees in Granada affected my life

I Can't Help But Think Of The Olive Trees Of Granada In A Special Way

They Feed Me, Shade Me And Help My Health Improve

I had little realisation of how the olive trees in Granada would make such an impact on my life - until we moved here from England.
Granada olives on tree
Actually, the culture of the olive trees in Granada (the variety is olea europaea) is believed to have originated on the edge of the Mediterranean sea around 5,000 b.C.

Without doubt, the olive tree - and olive oil - are the two single items which have most affected the lifestyles of Mediterranean people since the dawn of time.

The normal life-span of an olive tree in Granada which is producing good olive oil is around 500 to 900 years - although there are a good number of trees yielding oil which are over 1,000 years old. Even though the production of oil can vary greatly from year to year, the tree thrives in a dry climate and in low fertile soils which makes it ideal for most of the Granada Province. (Although the land around Padul is extremely fertile)

There are approximately 8.5 million hectares of olive trees the world over, of which 2.2 million hectares are in Spain - approximately 1.3 million of them being in Andalucia.

About 93% of the olives are grown for the oil, 7% are for olives to eat at the table.

The main variety of olive trees in Granada for their olives for eating are

Ruiz Blanca and
Manzanilla

These are the BIG olives with plenty of flavour.

For making olive oil, however, the main olive trees grown here are

Picual
Manceña and
Lechinar

Picual, the most grown variety of olive tree, means pointed, and this type of tree tree gives olives which have a type of V-shape.

About a quarter of the olive's weight is pressed off as oil. The oil contains about 4% of linoleic acid and up to 80% of monounsaturated oleic acid - a vital component in the prevention of heart disease. harvesting the olives with sticks

The olive oil produced from olive trees in Granada is well balanced with a full-bodied flavour and a clean crisp taste.

As well as being a resource for oil and olives, olive groves are also an obvious source of olive wood, which is very hard and with an extremely beautiful grain. It is used to make furniture, bowls and household ornaments and is just starting to be used for parquet flooring - ideal because of its great durability and attractive appearance.

Waste olive wood is used for household fires. Many homes have wood-burning stoves (chimeneas) and olive wood is the traditional fuel used to keep our homes warm and cosy during the winters.

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The olive trees in Granada are apparent all around the province.

Indeed, walk out of Los Limoneros, our bed and breakfast Granada and within a couple of minutes you will find yourself within the welcoming embrace of an olive grove.

The groves bring an order to the landscape, being as they are, planted in such accurately spaced order. Go up during the heat of the day and you are enveloped by the cool shade of the trees, although whenever I walk within our olive groves I am reminded of the song from the musical Kismet which says that "a fool sat beneath an olive tree..." - and I am almost tempted to sit down underneath a Granada olive tree!

Picture a jar of olive oil or an olive branch with olives - and you have an image of Spain. Olive trees in Granada have all these meanings and more for me, but probably the main feeling they engender is a feeling of "Peace" within as signified by a ubiquitous sprig of olive.

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