Properties: Olives
Olives are small, fingertip-sized stone fruits that contain an inedible, hard pit. The rubbery fruit flesh tastes very robust and is therefore ideal as an ingredient for various dishes. Particularly noteworthy is the high nutritional value of ripe olives. Thus, the fruit is rich in important vitamins and minerals and contains a variety of essential macronutrients that perfectly round out the nutritional value of the olive. Olives arrive either green or in the black-violet state to retail. Canned olive fruits are usually sold pitted.
Origin: Olives
The olive is mentioned in the Bible, where a dove brought Noah an olive branch after the flood, indicating that land had reappeared. The origins of the olive trace back to Central Asia, where it was first cultivated and gradually spread into the eastern Mediterranean region. Today, olives are grown almost throughout the entire Mediterranean region. As major export countries for olives and olive products, Italy, Spain, Greece, Lebanon, and Turkey stand out today. Olives require a Mediterranean to hot and dry climate to thrive but can also be grown in more northern regions such as southern parts of Austria and southwestern Germany under certain conditions. However, the yield here is far from as high as that of olive trees in the Mediterranean region.
Uses: Olives
Olive fruits can either be consumed raw or sold in a pickled state. Furthermore, olives serve as a flavorful ingredient for Mediterranean dishes and salads. Another main use of the olive is in the production of olive oil, which consists of the cold-pressed and processed fat from the olive.
Storage: Olives
Olives should be stored best in darkness, light-protected, and cool. Ideally, the olives also remain in a tightly sealed container after opening. Under optimal conditions, opened olives are edible for about 2 weeks.
Health: Olives
The olive is credited with numerous health benefits, which is why regular consumption is recommended. This is primarily due to the unsaturated fatty acids contained in olives, which are good for the cardiovascular system and thus have a life-lengthening effect. Furthermore, olives contain many bitter substances that work antibacterially and support the liver's detoxification work. Olives are also helpful in gout.
Season
Olives prefer a warm, dry climate and therefore ripen best during the summer months. They can be harvested by the end of the summer months in autumn. The olive season thus runs from October to December. While complex harvesting methods are employed for olive trees south of the Alps, hand-picking is sufficient for less productive plantings above the Alpine border. However, ripe olives are available throughout the year in retail. For better preservation, olives are often preserved in oil or a salt brine.
Taste: mild, aromatic
Olives are the fruits of the olive tree, which reaches growth heights between 10 and 12 meters and is cultivated in olive groves. The olive itself is a stone fruit that attains a diameter of 1 to 2 centimeters, or a length between 1 and 4 centimeters. In an unripe state, it is surrounded by a green-colored skin that turns violet to black through further ripening. Olives contain large amounts of water but primarily also unsaturated fats, which are used for olive oil production. The rather hard kernel of the olive fruit is enveloped by a soft shell that contains the flesh of the olive. The flesh has a glassy to rubbery consistency and exhibits a slightly bitter, harsh, and oily taste. The riper the olive, the less bitter it usually is. The hard kernels of olives are not edible.