California Ripe Olive Growers Help Kids Get Cooking

FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mom and dad aren't the only ones cooking in the kitchen. Kids are cooking, too! In fact, in a survey from FleishmanHillard/TheMotherhood.com, 43 percent of moms said they want to get their kids more involved in cooking with more than half of the respondents getting kids involved in cooking as early as age 3.

To help support getting kids more interested in cooking as well as nutrition and agriculture, the California Olive Committee is proud to sponsor PBS' "Hey Kids, Let's Cook," a national television cooking show targeted at kids, along with parents, grandparents and teachers.

"Hey Kids, Let's Cook," now going into its seventh season and its third year nationally, helps children and teens develop valuable cooking skills, while demonstrating how to make simple and delicious recipes. Kids are drawn to the show's colorful, entertaining format and meeting exciting 3-D animated characters like "Farrah on Manners" and "Emma," who takes the kids on fun field trips showing how food is grown, harvested and packaged. The California Olive Committee, as well as parents and educators, support the show because of its educational content that includes nutrition, life skills and core-curriculum that is integrated into each episode.

"California Ripe Olives are a long-time favorite of adults and kids, alike and we're excited to have the California Olive Committee supporting our show this year," said Kathy Powers, host and producer of "Hey Kids, Let's Cook." "From pizza to tacos, many popular family meals often include delicious ripe olives, and with kids taking more of an interest in cooking, it's important for them to know not just how to cook with them, but how they are grown as well."

Powers and her team of young, seasoned chefs, ranging in age from six to 13, bring fun to the kitchen with 13 half-hour episodes packed with practical instruction, nutritional information, tips on table manners, hints on how to spice up a boring meal and advice for how to impress mom and dad with creative and delicious dinners, as well as occasional guests. California Ripe Olives will be featured in several recipes throughout the season.

Both delicious and versatile, California Ripe Olives are the ideal pantry staple because they go with everything from breakfast to dinner and snacks to sweets. California produces more than 95 percent of the olives grown in the U.S. and the California Olive Committee is comprised of two family-owned canning facilities and about a thousand growers. California table olive farms come in all sizes – from 5 acres to 1,000 acres – many of whom have been growing olives for multiple generations on family farms.

For recipes and to learn more about the California Ripe Olive industry, visit www.calolive.org.

About the California Olive Committee

The California Olive Committee (COC) is a grower-funded program established by a Federal Marketing Order in 1965 to administer marketing, research, inspection and compliance programs on behalf of the ripe olive industry. The COC is comprised of two olive canners and thousands of family farmers, who raise olives on about 27,000 acres of orchards that crisscross the warm inland valleys of California. "Like" California Ripe Olives on Facebook and follow @CalRipeOlives on Twitter. For more information about California Ripe Olives including recipes, visit: http://www.calolive.org.

About the California Ripe Olive Industry

California produces more than 95 percent of the olives grown in the U.S. today. Typically farms are not mechanically run, industrial farms, but multi-generational orchards powered by hardworking California farmers and their families. Plots come in all sizes – ranging from small 5-acre lots to 1,000-acre multi-crop farms – and are individually serviced by some of the finest stewards of the land with strict growing and handling standards. There are two main varieties of trees that produce California ripe olives: Manzanillo and Sevillano. These different varieties produce different sizes of olives, giving consumers a choice ranging from small to super colossal.

SOURCE California Olive Committee