What to Know
- Guests on Graber Olive House's Nov. 9 and 10 tours will observe the canning process. Times: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Highland Springs Ranch and Inn is having a Community Harvest on Nov. 17, 23, and 24
- Pick 30 pounds of olives at Highland Springs and receive a $10 gift certificate to the ranch
Pumpkin, maple, and stuffing are the flavors on a lot of cuisine-obsessed minds as November deepens (if, indeed, stuffing can be called a flavor, which, let's be honest, it truly is).
But there's another fall superstar that draws attention as the days grow shorter. It's the olive, that flavor-big friend to caponata, tapenades, and cheese boards everywhere.
So you're all about olives, and consume the small, oh-so-rich fruits on a daily basis, but you haven't ever ventured to a behind-the-scenes situation, to see how these delectables are picked and prepared for sale?
That's the pit, but you'll get no pitty, er, pity from us.
There's a way to remedy this situation, and it is happening at a couple of places that are just an hour, or a couple of hours, from Los Angeles as harvest season reaches its peak.
Graber Olive House, that historic olive destination of Ontario, has been producing "Tree-Ripened Olives Since 1894." It's a spot known for its terrific gift store, and informative tours, too, but getting to see the full canning process in action is a rarer thing.
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Get excited, olive aficionados, for the Nov. 9 and 10 tours at Graber's will give visitors a look at olive canning in full swing.
Neat. But more than merely neat, it's a true slice of our agricultural legacy 'round the region.
But if you're longing to go a bit further back, to when the olives are still on the trees, best get out to Highland Springs Ranch & Inn, near Banning, on Nov. 17, 23, and 24, 2019.
Those are the dates of the Community Olive Harvest, and if you pick 30 pounds, you'll score a ten-dollar gift certificate.
Highland Springs isn't affiliated with Graber Olive House, but both spots are enjoying Novembers that are especially rich in olive-focused pursuits, and both places are opening up those harvest-y activities to the public, either for observation or participation.
So are you all about tapenades, oils, and everything olive?
You've reached November, when the small fruit is living large at various olive-growing, olive-canning outfits around Southern California and beyond.
