OROVILLE — “A joke we tell people from out of town is that olives are best right off the tree. We locals know that’s not true.”
Daniel Ballard relayed that nugget while conducting a tour through the Ehmann Home at the Butte County Olive Festival in Oroville on Saturday.
The annual Olive Festival serves as the main fundraiser for the Butte County Historical Society and included three olive oil vendors, various food and craft booths and tours of the historic Ehmann Home. A large focus of the event was Freda Ehmann, who played a pivotal role in the olive industry.
“What it is for me is a chance to celebrate Freda Ehmann and what she did for Oroville and the local area,” said Butte County Historical Society Board Member Nancy Brower. “And to celebrate the olives.”
Freda Ehmann perfected a process that made black olives popular and enjoyable to many, Brower said. Ehmann is sometimes referred to as the “Mother of the Ripe Olive Industry.”
During one of the Ehmann Home tours, Ballard asked a large group if anyone had been to the home before. Catherine Rose raised her hand.
Rose is the great-great granddaughter of Freda Ehmann. Recently, she’s been inspired by how much people care about her family’s history and wants to invest more time, interest and passion into the restoration.
Doug Maxfield, Ehmann’s great-great grandson, also attended the tour.
“Some people have roots, we have pits,” Rose said.
The Ehmann home is undergoing major repairs to help restore the historical site. Part of the funds from the Olive Festival go to this project. The historical society also has a donation page on their website buttecountyhistory.com.
Oil
“What do retired arborists do? They buy an olive orchard,” said Susan Sims, owner of Sims TLC Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The Sims family bought the historic Meier Olive Orchard in 2015. The Oroville orchard began in 1912, under the care of Thomas Watkins. Then it was sold to Robert Meier in 1950, who ran the orchard for decades until he died in 2009. Sims said some of the trees in the Orchard are over 100 years old.
The Sims family also owns Sims Tree Health Specialists, a business that diagnoses and helps trees with illnesses.
Two popular oil varieties Sims sells are mission and mandarin. Sims especially likes using the mandarin oil to bake because it adds a hint of orange. When baking a cake from a box mix, she recommends swapping the required vegetable oil for mandarin olive oil.
“It’s fabulous,” Sims said.
Other than for cooking, Sims said olive oil can be used for cleaning stainless steel, leather, wood and granite.
Another oil vendor, Calolea, offered a wide variety of oils including a habanero flavor. Olive festival attendee Rimanda Goodwin bought this one and said it is good on shrimp.
“There’s (olive) varieties that smell like cat pee, and people love it,” said Calolea owner Michael Keller. “There’s kalamatas that taste like bananas. There’s many different flavor profiles.”
Keller became passionate about olive oil after he had a transcendental meal in France. The oil in the meal tasted like nothing he’d ever had before. The event led him to Loma Rica where he started his olive farm.
“The best way to buy olive oil is to know the guy making it,” Michael Keller said.
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Keller said the best olive oil he’s tried always comes from a smaller scale operation. Often what stores sell and what restaurants use is lower quality, he said.
Calolea won multiple awards for its oil this year. At the California State Fair the Calolea arbosana and tuscan blend oils both received gold medals. At the Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition the arbosana oil won another gold medal.
Another booth at the festival, Bird Street Vendors, sold Sutter Buttes olive products. Owner of Bird Street Rori Summers said the garlic stuffed olives and the parmesan dipping sauce are the company’s best sellers.
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