Veraison - from green to purple

From October the fruit begins to ripen. The color of the olive begins to change, the veraison phase begins.

Olives ripen and darken. From green they will become green-purple or green-brown.

Olives go through several stages just like other fruits and yield different oils depending on the stage of ripening when harvested.

• When they are not ripe, their pulp is too hard, they cannot be used.
• Then they turn green, they can be harvested and will be ideal for giving oils with a fruity taste, with spicy notes.
• The olives in veraison turn purple, they will give oils with lots of aromas and taste.
• Then they pass to the so-called 'full maturity' stage. Their skin is totally black.
• The olives are then so ripe that they fall from the tree on their own, they are attacked by insects. The oil is of lower quality, having less flavor and more acidity.

As you will have understood, it is the color of the skin of the olives which makes it possible to determine the degree of maturity of the olives. For the olive grower it is therefore very important to look closely at the color of his olives in order to know when to harvest them.

See you soon for more :)

Myriam & David

If you liked this article, check out our other blogs in the category 'The world of olives'.