Geeks making olive oil

A story in the LA Times this past weekend — “Caltech branches into … olive oil” — covers the geeks at the SoCal technical university coming up with a great scheme.

Take 130 trees dropping olives on campus walkways. Add in students seeking prankish respite from their studies. Mix in a French-born university president with a taste for Mediterranean cuisine.

That’s the formula for making olive oil at Caltech.

The institution better known for rocket science is launching its own brand of the golden kitchen condiment, produced from the trees on its Pasadena campus. A minor flood — upward of 300 gallons — is expected this fall.

Caltech has joined up with the California Olive Oil Council in order to get their products tested in various ways, including whether it gets rated as “extra virgin.”

According to the story, UC Davis and Cal State Fresno have also ventured into olive oil production.