Food

Food Information

Fruit

Tropical

OLIVES

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

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

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

Raw fresh olives are inedible; they have a vile flavor. But when they arecured 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.

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