A few olives

This is our entire crop from our small Lucque tree. I picked them this morning, maybe a bit early but I don't want them to suffer from an attack by olive fly as we had last year. This is the first time I've picked them when they're still green. In other years I've cured them once they had ripened but found that this variety goes a bit mushy when they're ripe, so I'm going to try curing them in brine while they're still green. I hope they'll be ready for our traditional Christmas day apéritifs in the garden when we usually eat our own olives. I think we'll need to add some others to make up enough, though!

The Lucque variety originated in Lucca in Italy but has become the most-grown variety here in the Hérault. It is prized for its delicate flavour, its almost crunchy flesh and its large pointed fruit.

There's a much better crop on our other tree (of unknown variety) so I'm going to risk leaving them to ripen.