Olive tender Ascoli
Green olives used for the preparation of meat stuffed olives belong to the "Tender Ascolana" variety of Olea europaea sativa type, well known in Roman times, also called Liva da Concia or Liva Ascolana of San Francesco. The olives, after being collected from the plants before they have reached the state of full maturity, are immersed in a bath of potassium solution which extracts the bitter taste. After the necessary time, they are subjected to several washes with water only and subsequently brined in a preservation solution to which are added small quantities of wild fennel.
The Latins called green olives in brine "Colymbades" coming their name from the Greek word κολυμβάω (colymbáo, "swimming"), in reference to the method of preservation. The tender Ascoli Olive was particularly appreciated for its qualities in ancient Rome. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder in his "Naturalis Historia" recognized the superiority and the prestige of the olives grown in the Piceno. The Roman poet Martial appreciated the Ascolana olives and he consumed them as an aperitif or after a meal. Petronius in Satyricon tells how the olives of the Piceno were always present on the table of Trimalchio. Pope Sixtus V mentions them in thanksgiving letter addressed to the Elders of Ascoli.
The production of olives in brine remained a family preparedness or craft until the second half of the nineteenth century. Around 1875, Mariano Mazzocchi, Ascoli engineer, started a business on a large scale for the production and marketing of the product.
(Source: wikipedia.org)
