The fruits of the olive tree: olives
Olives grow on the olive tree and are used to produce oil and to be eaten as table food .
The olive fruit is a globular, ovoid drupe, fleshy, green during development and black-purple when ripe.
We can in fact distinguish two types of olives: oil olives and table olives, which we will discuss in this article.
In some cases, olives can be used for both purposes.
There are varieties of table or oil olives that can be preserved in brine.
To recognize the different varieties of olives, there are specific regulations that describe the tree varieties and fruits of each olive variety.
How to recognize table olives
Table olives have reached full ripeness and are generally larger than olives for oil.
All table olives, both green and black, must be treated before use to eliminate their bitter taste: it is never possible to eat olives picked from the tree as is the case with other fruits.
Olives come in a wide range of colors, from straw green to purple to black…even pink!
The precise moment an olive is picked can determine its flavor and texture: just as you might imagine, the greener an olive, the younger it is.
When are table olives harvested?
These young fruits are generally picked from the tree when they have reached maximum size and ripeness in terms of both color and pulp consistency.
The harvest period runs from mid-September to November, but the exact timing of the harvest varies because it must be evaluated based on the seasonal climate trend.
For example, a very dry summer season delays the period.
For market requirements, table olives must be free of external defects, so the harvesting method must be gentle, by hand or with equipment that does not damage the skin.
How many varieties of table olives are there?
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of varieties of olives throughout the world.
However, only about 150 are regularly grown for table consumption.
Different olive varieties taste different due to many factors, including soil and weather conditions, when they are harvested, polyphenol content, and more.
Technically, olives are a stone fruit (and no, they are not a vegetable).
Compared to other stone fruits like peaches or plums, olives have a very high oil content and a very low sugar content, which is why they taste so different from typical stone fruits.
Frantoio D'Orazio mixes different cultivars to obtain its blend .
What is the difference between green olives and black table olives?
The most visual distinction between olives is their color: green or black.
This is why there is a common idea that green and black olives are different varieties, but as logical as it may seem, it is actually a myth.
All olives start out green and then ripen to black, purple, or another darker color.
Just because olives are two different colors doesn't necessarily mean they come from two different varieties.
Some people mistakenly ask how sweet green olives are made, but this definition doesn't exist: often people mean Nocellara, ours are simply green olives.
Green table olives
Green olives are not yet ripe and are harvested before they ripen into black olives.
As a result, they usually have a more bitter taste than their riper counterparts.
Olives of the same variety can be green or black, depending on when they were harvested and stored.
We find various types of green olives on the market :
- water-sweetened green olives : small or large, they are kept for ten days in fresh water that is changed several times and then preserved in lightly salted water;
- Sweet green olives : large, Ascoli, and Apulian. Treated with lime and caustic soda, they are bright green;
- Green olives in brine : treated like the previous ones but less intensely. They are then preserved in brine (typical bar olives);
- White olives : mostly Sicilian, they whiten because they are kept for a long time in a strong brine, followed by softening in water and preservation in light brine
- Cured olives : sweetened in brine, bruised and lightly fermented with fennel, garlic and chilli pepper or garlic and oregano and other flavourings
Black table olives
Black olives , that is, those harvested when fully ripe, also have a wide range on the market:
- baresane olives : large, shiny olives, sweetened with soda and lime;
- Greek olives : large and dark brown or purplish in colour, they are treated with a brine based on wine vinegar and preserved in a brine of similar composition but with the addition of oil;
- dried olives : they have wrinkled skin, they are sweetened in water and then dried in the sun or in the oven;
- Gaeta olives : small, purple or light brown, bitter and tart. They are sweetened in water, then salted and soaked again, and finally placed in a brine of boiled water and salt;
- black olives in brine : they are generally small, more or less brownish-black and shiny and processed with different treatments;
- Olives in dry salt : medium-sized, opaque and slightly shriveled, they are sweetened, preserved in salt and then washed in water and dried briefly in the oven.
Black olives in brine and those in dry salt are often flavored a few days before eating with onion, lemon or orange slices, fennel, oregano, chili pepper, thyme and dressed with oil.
The Sevillian method for preparing table olives
Table olives ( or table olives) cannot be eaten immediately because they are bitter: they must be decaffeinated either in an alkaline solution or in salt.
Green olives for consumption are produced according to a very ancient method called the “ Sevillian method” which originated in Seville, Spain.
It involves using fresh, unripened olives that are subjected to an initial phase of debittering in an alkaline solution followed by a fermentation phase that lasts 40 to 50 days.
Traditionally, some steps are followed:
- Green olives, not yet ripe, of adequate size and quality are selected.
- The olives are scored with a cutter or a sharp knife to allow the caustic soda solution to penetrate.
- To prepare the alkaline solution, use water and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). The typical ratio is about 1 liter of water for every 50-100 grams of caustic soda.
- At this point, the olives are immersed in the caustic soda solution and left to soak for a period of time that can vary from a few hours to several days, depending on the bitterness of the olives and personal preference. During this time, the solution is stirred occasionally to ensure that all the olives are evenly exposed to the caustic soda.
- After the soaking period, the olives are rinsed thoroughly with cold water to remove the residual caustic soda, making them edible.
- At this point the olives can be preserved in brine or oil, adding spices, herbs or aromas to taste to flavour them.
How to enjoy table olives
Olives can be purchased packaged or loose, whole or pitted.
The green ones are also stuffed with peppers, almonds, or anchovies, and both these and the black ones can be purchased flavored with chili pepper and other ingredients.
They can be enjoyed as a snack or added to recipes such as meat or fish stews, pasta dishes, baked goods, savory pies, salads and much more.
In Sicily, for example, they are a must in some traditional recipes such as pesce salsito or consiglio a' stimpirata and are essential in caponata.
Olives are also used to make tasty patés to spread on bread, serve with vegetables, or as an appetizer: delicious!
But what are the best table olives in Italy ?
It depends on your tastes, there are many varieties of table olives and if they are of good quality there is no one better than another.
Bella di Cerignola olives are a great choice as an aperitif due to their size and crunchiness.
The best olives, however, are those produced following the highest quality standards.
For this reason we recommend you try our olives directly from the gourmet proposals !
If you're unsure about which olives to choose, keep it simple and choose healthy, fragrant, and flawless ones.
