The good oil on local olives

AN educational stop will be made on the Gate to Plate Food Trail on Saturday at Carrs Peninsula Olive Farm, where ever-knowledgeable Don and Dorothy Enders will be on hand to share how olives are produced.

Don planted the first olive tree on the certified organic property in 1996 in an effort to diversify his source of income and a local institution was born.

All of the olives that carry the Carrs Peninsula label have been hand picked at their prime level of ripeness and then cured for around three years, which is vastly different to the preparation methods used by commercial producers.

"Most of your supermarket olives that are imported from Italy or Spain have been cured in caustic soda for six to 12 weeks.

"We enjoy doing things the old-fashioned way even though it is very labour intensive.

"What we have found as well is that people are becoming far more interested in where their food comes from and how it is produced, and we really do like being able to answer any question people have about our products."

As well as a full range of olives with different marinades, Don and Dorothy produce cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil, a chutney, a sauce and a relish.

"Our olive oil is bottled from the first press of the olives, which gives it a lively crisp and mild taste. Everything else is thrown out as waste," he said.

You can visit Don and Dorothy at the Grafton Farmers Market every Thursday.