Today we were at Seaside Provisions to learn more about Californian olives. I am already fan of the fruit, as I do love anything that can be treated as an edible garnish for a cocktail. Pitted olives in my martini and skewered ones alongside, pickled green beans and celery in a Caesar. We would learn more about this fruit during a casual luncheon. Here, we explored their flavours, learned their history, and discovered the practical applications of olives through the lens of California; North America’s largest distributors of olives, both bottled and canned.
As guests trickled in, we were welcomed with a glass of sparkling wine. Much like all the paired wines to come, this was curated by Seaside Provision’s in-house Sommelier.
This was a bright start to accompany the self-serve charcuterie station. You have the option of picking through grazing boards of cured meat, cheese, crackers, compotes, and the occasional olive. Or easily grab a pre-portioned serving of the above, in a paper cone, making this a travel friendly canapé of sorts.
Guests were able to chat among ourselves, getting to know one another as we claimed individual seats. Family style, high top tables, each with its own place settings and menu. As a whole decorated by a centrepiece of fall foliage that included olive leaves and a skewer of black olives as decoration. I found this incredibly creative and clever for the theme.
When time, our attention was brought to the front where our host would walk us through the history and tasting notes of olives, as it specifically related to California’s production. Questions were encouraged, and each session was punctuated by a course. We would be getting a seminar style presentation as we worked our way through 3 courses. A clever idea to keep our attention, and keep us from talking with our mouths full. It felt very full circle learning more about olives as we had them mindfully incorporated into various dishes.
Our guest speaker and host was Emily Lycopolus, a renowned Olive Oil Critic and Sommelier. Her passion for olives began in her husband’s family olive grove. Since then, she haswritten 8 cookbooks on the topic. She would walk us through what makes California Ripe Olives so special.
My biggest take away was the fact that there is only one colour of olive. That the green ones are unripen and the black ones ripe, darkened through the processing stage, which changes its colour.
In terms of flavour, the green ones are known to be more buttery with a subtle flavour that pairs well with meat. Great in a poultry dishe and as a topping in a punchy Caesar salad. They also make a great substitute for a caper, if you don’t want their saltiness.
The black olives are known to be sweeter and can cross the line into dessert, which we will learn first hand today. They also work well with dairy so are commonplace on a pizza with cheese or over pasta and Burrata, like we had below.
As we nibbled on the first course we got into the history of Californian olives. They were introduced in 1769, from Spain. The trees still harvested today were planted in the 1800’s. 95% of the United State’s table olives are grown in California.
Olive farming is a long game. They have a short juvenile period, but it takes them 15-25 to start producing fruit. And even then, it is not a lot of fruit, but it is of high quality.
In terms of age, there is no difference between a 25 year old olive tree versus a 200 year old olive tree. From 250 years and beyond is when you start to taste the difference. And thankfully once the tree is established with roots, it is immortal and you cannot kill it.
Californian olives differ from Mediterranean ones as there are less regulations to its farming and time and energies are focus on the innovation used to produce a larger bounty, with the least amount of work. For instance, trees are planted closer to one another to make it easier for mechanical harvesting.
Once harvested olives have to be ripen to be edible. You can’t just have one off the tree. The machines comb the olive fruit from off of the branches, where it takes 100 to 200 days to make an olive, depending on when you want to pick it. It takes 2 months to pick the olives and deliver them to the packing plant, where they are stored in vinegar. The air and oxygen that runs through the tank is what turns them blacks.
The olives we were enjoying today are of the predominate varieties. And the olives that appeared on our plates are not necessarily the same variety that was made into oil and used in preparing our lunch.
Our three course meal started with Marinated California Ripe Olives infused with fresh herbs, crushed walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic and pomegranate arils. The olives did well to balanced with the sweetness from the basil in the pesto and as a pick me up to the arancini balls, that felt like a filler. Honestly I would have been just as happy with only the olives on top of the greens and the dressing that was drizzled all over them.
Our first wine pairing was the Cannonball Chardonnay. It was creamy with honeydew and caramel corn, complex on the lips to offset the boldness of olives that there was no disguising.
Our second course was Burrata Linguine with roasted California Ripe Olives and Crispy Prosciutto. Aglio e olio with roasted California Ripe Olives, sun-dried tomatoes, chili flakes, burrata, and crispy prosciutto.
The burrata had the texture of stringy mozzarella, rather than a creamy spreadable burrata. The perfect base for the olives to sing, surrounded by sweet tomato and herbs. I also appreciated the pops of crispy prosciutto added for a nice textural change. This all ate on the saltier side thanks to the olives and meat, where I could have used some bread on the side. Luckily the wine pairing here was the Jonah’s “The Pairing” Cabernet Sauvignon blend 2019.
The wine was sweeter with blackberry and cassis that was dominate on the nose. On the tongue you got toasted oak and a forest quality herbaceous-ness. It served as a neutralizer for the brinier olives thanks to dark warming fruit and plenty of tannis.
And for dessert we had Fennel and Lemon Verbena Meringues with Chantilly Cream served with berry coulis, California Ripe Olives moss, and flowers. The olives were well disguised in the airy sponge of cake. Barely there morsels that rely on the accompanying ingredients for sugar. Not too sweet, we found the wine pairing more like dessert.
The Clos de Soleil “Saturn” 2022 is a late-harvest wine made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, specifically selected and harvested in late November. It echoed dessert with ribbons of honey and lemon meringue pie. A wonder course to end on.
For those interested, this exact prix fixe menu is currently available at Seaside Provision and will be offered until the beginning of December. It is a great way to get better acquainted with California Olives and to be inspired to add some to your home cooked meal today.
Seaside Provisions: Wine, Spirits & Gourmet
125 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC V7L OB2
(604) 973-1477
seasideprovisions.com
