Food

Food Information

Fruit

Tropical

OLIVES

Records show that olive trees were cultivated in ancient Egypt as long ago as 2000 B.C. In the Old Testament story of Noah, it was an olive twig that the dove returned to the ark to give word that the flood was starting to recede.

Ninety-five percent of the world's olives are grown in the Mediterranean basin, the two top producers being Spain and Italy. The bulk of the olive crop is pressed into olive oil. However, a fair portion is cured in brine or oil and put up in jars and barrels. Raw olives are as hard as a rock and aren't very perishable. Look for clear-skinned, unmarked olives.

In the United States nearly all of our commercially grown olives are produced in California. Most of the crop is allowed to ripen, then put into tins and sold as ripe black olives. A small percentage of the crop is shipped to market as fresh olives and usually purchased by retailers who have stores in predominantly Italian neighborhoods.

Raw fresh olives are inedible; they have a vile flavor. But when they are cured in brine or vinegar and flavored with garlic by someone with know-how, they are very tasty. Unless you have a determined olive maker in your family, buy your olives in jars at the supermarket.

Deamer 5/97