Olive harvest outside Livorno

Lots more coming from my Italian adventure with Art Smith, but a quick peek at the Tuscan olives we helped to harvest... You can see that I am a natural at raking the trees of their fruit. Learned from our hosts at Lucini that the best time of year to pick olives is the mid-fall, just as they are turning from green to black. Most pronounced peppery olive flavor, and most nutrients.