HISTORY OF THE MISSION OLIVE
The Mission olive is unique to the missions founded by the Spanish Franciscan and Jesuit Padres in Alta and Baja California. Originally brought most likely from Spain by the missionaries, it no longer exists there. Tests performed at the University of Spain at Cordoba were unable to link it to any current 700 varieties growing worldwide. Thus, the Mission Olive is attributed to Mexico and California.
The Mission olive got its name because it was planted in groves within the mission land holdings just like the Mission Fig and the Mission Grape. It was an essential part of the secular and religious practices in the mission.
The Mission Olive has two mysteries: what was the original variety and how were the first mission olive trees planted from seed or cuttings. These are unanswered questions.
OLIVES COME TO CALIFORNIA
The olive trees planted at the California missions came from the established missions in Baja. When King Carlos III of Spain became interested in settling Alto California in the mid eighteenth century, he instructed the Franciscans to take over all clerical activities of the Jesuits and the Lower California missions. As a result of a power struggle between church and state, the Jesuits were “disestablished” and asked to leave the New World immediately. Friar Junipero Serra, a Franciscan was picked to be the leading missionary in the 1769 expedition to Alta California establishing Mission San Diego de Alcala that same year.
Because food was scarce, the grains and legumes were planted first and livestock was established. Once the core of the mission was built including the chapel, private quarters and service buildings, vegetable gardens and orchards were cultivated. Father Fermin Lasuen, successor to father Serra, reported that the missionaries pressed olive oil at Mission San Diego de Alcala in 1803. It took trees about 6-7 years to produce a good crop, therefore we can conclude that the trees were planted in the mid 1790s. An historic moment in the evolution of California heritage was reached: the first California Mission Olive grove produced the first California olive oil.
OLIVES IN THE NEW WORLD
1500 Spanish explorers bring olive tree plants to the Americas.
1600 Olive trees are grown in Peru, the West Indies, Chile, Argentina, Mexico
and the area later known as California.
Mid 1600's Cuttings carried to Peru by Spaniards
1769 First Alta California mission established : San Diego de Alcala by
Father Junipero Serra
1785 Missions had to buy olives and oil from other missions in Baja
1795 Artisans arrived to build the screw presses and stone mills. First trees
planted in California around this date under the guidance of Father Fermin Lasuen,
successor to Father Serra, at Mission San Diego de Alcala.
1803 Father Lausen wrote San Diego made a fine oil. First oil pressed in Alta California.
1834 Secularization for the missions
Mid 1800’s Cuttings from the missions started the California Olive Industry
1855 503 Commercial olive trees were growing. The market was slow and
making a profit difficult.
Late 1800’s Commercial production of olive oil grew in California, many new orchards
were planted throughout the state.
1871 First commercial factory outside of a mission set up in Ventura County
1872 The Picholine variety was introduced
1876 5603 trees planted in California.
1885 Frank & Warren Kimball further the industry in Sacramento valley by
establishing large groves outside of Oroville.
First Large Scale orchard planted in National City, San Diego County
Sevillano variety introduced
1890 50,000 acres planted in Corning (Northern Sacramento Valley)
Mission/Sevillano variety
1902 Charles M. Gifford of San Diego was the first to can ripe olives.
Ellwood Cooper of Santa Barbara who, along with National City’s
Frank Kimball, was the most famous olive grower and processor in
the early industry.
1900-1925 Rapid Expansion
1901: 539,568 trees planted on 5,000 acres
1900: About 200 olive factories exist
1910: Oroville – U.C. Berkeley professors establish groves
1916: Lindsay Cannery founded –Their motto: A nice town , A great olive
U.S. immigrants from Europe incorporate olive oil in American cooking.
1933 Pitter invented for Martini olive
1950’s Decline of industry due to imports
1990 Only three oil making factories left.
Introduced new world Tuscany varieties
Olive oil is widely used throughout the world, where it is prized by
diverse cultures for its versatility, health benefits and flavor.
TODAY Over 200 producers are making 200 oils
Approximately 23 factories
One cannery
HOW THE OLIVES WERE PLANTED AT THE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS
“Agricultural General”, a manual written by Alonso de Herrera and published in Madrid in 1777, gave careful instructions for planting olive trees. They can be grown by planting seed or by rooting suckers, “Barbados”, “truncheons” (large pieces 4" diameter x 12" in long), sections of the old root, or any part with bark on it.
Most likely, truncheons or basel shoots were taken from the trees at the Mission San Diego and other southern missions to plant at missions farther north. Truncheons were incubated in warm, moist soil until buds swelled on the bark. When sprouts appeared, the truncheons were planted and the sprouts grew into branches. The truncheons were also laid directly into the ground and grew from there.
HOW THE MISSIONARIES MADE OLIVE OIL
The Harvest: Native Americans climbed ladders made from tree branches and pulled the fruit off the trees into buckets tied to their shoulders or waist. They also beat the fruit off the branches with log sticks, then gathered the fruit from the ground.
Grinding the fruit: A large round grind stone, held in place by wooden timbers, was pulled by oxen around a trough made of local stone to grind the entire olive pit and flesh into a paste. The paste was spread on round mats woven of local reeds and taken to the wooden press. It is thought that the stones also ground grains.
Pressing the olive oil: A screw press was made from local wood. The reed mats laden with olive paste were layered under the press and then the screws tightened to squeeze out the oil and vegetable water. The press probably was also used to press grapes in the early days of the mission.
Separating the oil from the vegetable water: The oil and water pressed from the screw press was put into wooden barrels. The oil floated to the top and was ladled off. The lesser quality oil was beneath the top layer and the pumice sank to the bottom. These were the three olive oil products used in mission life. The finest quality oil was stored in ceramic jars, if available.
HOW OLIVES WERE USED IN THE MISSIONS
The olive was a tree integral to daily mission life. When the Native Americans pressed the oil from the olive fruit, with hand-crafted millstones and screw presses, they most likely stored the oil in wooden barrels. The clear oil rose to the top, the lesser quality oil and sediment sank to the bottom. Every quality of oil had a purpose in mission life:
FOR SACRAMENTAL USE: Pure olive oil was blessed by the Fathers to be used during Baptism and Confirmation. The Padres, in the Anointing of the Sick, used the blessed oil. In the Ordination celebration, the hands of newly ordained Priests were rubbed with the sacred oil. The oil had to be sent to Mexico City to be blessed by the Bishop in order to be called holy oil and used in services.
FOR COOKING: The delicate oil was used for baking bread, sautéing vegetables, and all fine cooking purposes. We can easily envision the padres dipping a crust of bread, fresh from the oven, into a bowl of fragrant golden olive oil and enjoying tasty cured olives
FOR LIGHTING : The lesser grade of oil was used as fuel for oil burning lamps.
FOR SOAP: Before the cattle herd expanded, so some could be butchered and tallow rendered for soap, the pumice from the olive oil was used to make soap.
FOR SPINNING: Olive oil was used to prepare the wool for spinning
FOR MACHINERY: The sediment greased the wheels of wagons, gristmills, screw presses and squeaky doors as far back as Roman times.
FOR HEALING: Olive oil contains high amounts of Vitamin A, E & C and it was used as a salve on burns and cuts, and to soothe many skin irritations.
These traditions live on in the Church and lives of people today.
|
