By Paul Symonds

Most of us have tried olives and at first you may have immediately loved the taste of olives, while others of you have acquired the taste over time and are now addicted. However you have become interested in olives, and quite possibly olive oil and everything connected to olives, you might well be curious as to the different types of olives, how they grow, how to treat them. You might want some ideas about olives also. Well, read on….

You probably realise that olives are classified as a type of fruit and is a fruit that until it is treated, would taste awful. If you have ever tried picking an olive directly off a tree and eating it, you will know what a bad idea it is and was (there are in unique cases a few you can eat direct from the tree). Olives need to go through a treatment process which often involves sodium and then a proper rinsing.

Classifying Olives by geographical region
You can classify olives in many ways including according to their size, shape, their type of skin, the sugar levels and also the oil levels on the olives. You perhaps could also classify the olives by country and region and even by colour.

Geographically, Italy is the biggest olive producer, with a yearly production of over 3 million tonnes of olives produced a year in Italy. Spain is the second largest produced, followed by Greece, Turkey and then Syria. The olives from these different regions are affected by factors such as the fertility of the land, hours of sunshine and the way they are treated differently in different regions.

Olives by size

Size can also be a way in which olives are classified. Generally, olives which are between three and five grams are considered small olives, whilst olives which are heavier than 5 grams are considered large olives.

Olives and stones

I am not sure about you but I find olives with stones are far far better than olives sold or served without a stone or pip. Olives which still have the stone in leave the olive with a harder and slightly tougher texture and this makes the taste slightly improved.

Oil Content

The oil content in olives can be different and ideally, the oil content will be as low as possible. Black olives normally have a higher oil content wheras green olives have a lower oil content.

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By Cindy Ng

Green olives are olives that were picked before they are ripened. Black olives were picked ripe and dipped in an iron solution to stabilize their color. After they are picked, green lives and black olives are soaked in a milk solution of sodium hydroxide and then washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a naturally bitter carbohydrate.

Then green olives may be allowed to ferment before they are packed in a brine solution. Black olives are not allowed to ferment before packaging, which is why they taste milder than most green olives. Green olives that do not ferment before packing taste as mild as black olives.

Greek and Italian olives are black olives that taste sharp because they have not been soaked to remove their oleuropein. They are salt-cured and sold in bulk, covered with olive oil that protects them from oxygen and helps preserve them. Olives are a high fiber, high fat food that derive 69 to 78 percent of their calories from olive oil, a predominantly unsaturated fat.

A serving of five olives, green or black, weighing 19 to 22 g, has 2 g fat. A serving of ripe olives has 1 g dietary fiber while green olives has less than 1 g. Those that are on low-fat and low-sodium diet should exclude or avoid this food.

When buying olives, look for tightly sealed bottles or cans. Small olives are less woody than large ones. Green olives have a more astringent taste than black olives. Greek olives, available only in bulk, have a sharp spicy taste. Pitted olives are the best buy if you want to slice the olives into a salad, otherwise olives with pits are less-expensive and a better buy.

Always store unopened cans or jars of lives on a cool, dry shelf. Once you’ve opened a can of olives, take the olives out of the can and refrigerate them in a clean glass container. In order to avoid having the olives taste too salty, bathe them in olive oil before using.

Olives are also processed for its oil. They are pressed to produce olive oil, one of the few vegetable oils with a distinctive flavor and aroma. Olive oils are graded according to the pressing from which they come and the amount of free oleic acid they contain. The presence of free oleic acid means that the oil’s molecules have begun to break down. Virgin olive oil is oil from the first pressing of the olives. Pure olive oil is a mixture of oils from the first and second pressings. Virgin olive oil may contain as much as 4 percent free oleic acid. Fine virgin olive oil may contain 3 percent free oleic acid, superfine virgin olive oil 1.5 percent, and extra virgin olive oil 1 percent.

Olive oil is a more concentrated source of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) than olives. Because it is high in unsaturated fatty acids, whole carbon atoms have double bonds than can make room for more oxygen atoms, olive oil oxidizes and turns rancid fairly quickly if exposed to heat or light. To protect the oil, store it in a cool and dark cabinet.

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By Patrick Malcolm

Olive trees, ‘Olea europaea,’ are the oldest fruit trees and certainly are one of the most important fruit trees in history. Olive tree culture has been closely connected to the rise and fall of Mediterranean empires and other advanced civilizations throughout the ages. Because olive trees offered wealth and future food supplies to established civilizations, the agricultural nations became stable societies, resulting from a secure expectation from past experience of an uninterrupted food and olive oil supply. This factor was a necessary requirement for population growth and increase. Dependable fruit production and olive oil production means that olive trees must exist in a stable society and a peaceful environment. That stability must extend for many years, since most ancient seedling olive trees required eight or more years before ever producing the first crop of fruit.

Productive orchards of olive trees meant that a foundation of the great empires of Greece and Rome had arisen and developed into complex economic and political forces. It is interesting to note that the historical decline of these empires corresponded to the destruction of their olive tree orchards that reduced the available supplies of olives, olive oil, olive wood, and olive soap. In connection with the destruction of olive orchards, it is interesting to note that in the Israeli wars with Palestine, 50,000 olive trees were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. That act of agricultural destruction resulted in considerable anger and unrest along the Gaza strip and the West Bank, because the economic livelihood of many Palestinian farmers depended on their products from the uprooted olive trees. Additionally, the olive tree was historically a ‘peace and goodwill’ symbol, and when the olive trees were leveled near the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the “Cradle of Biblical History,” that elimination of olive trees seemed like a deliberate provocation to end the ‘peace’ with the Palestinian settlers and farmers.

Medical properties of olive oil were reported by many ancient Greek writers and philosophers, their importance in creating nutritional benefits and wealth for Greek citizens continues abundantly today–some Greek olive tree orchards containing a million or more trees. Aristotle wrote extensively about the accepted methods of successfully growing olive trees.

Greek mythology records that Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and peace, struck her magic spear into the Earth, and it turned into an olive tree, thus, the location where the olive tree appeared and grew was named Athens, Greece, in honor of the Goddess, Athena. Local legend tells us that the original olive tree still stands growing after many centuries at the ancient sacred site. Citizens still claim that all Greek olive trees originated from rooted cuttings that were grown from that original olive tree. Homer claimed in his writings that the ancient olive tree growing in Athens was already 10,000 years old. Homer stated that Greek courts sentenced people to death if they destroyed an olive tree. In 775 BC Olympia, Greece, at the site of the ancient Olympic stadium, athletes competed and trained, and winners were triumphantly acclaimed and crowned with a wreath made of olive twigs. Ancient gold coins that were minted in Athens depicted the face of the Goddess, Athena, wearing an olive leaf wreath on her helmet holding a clay vessel of olive oil. The Greeks began olive cultivation in 700 BC.

The sacred lamp that was used in ancient Greek culture for lighting dark rooms at night was fueled by olive oil. Aged olive oil was also used in sacred anointing rituals of the church at weddings and at baptisms. Herodotus wrote in 500 BC, that the growing and exporting of olives and olive oil were so sacred that only virgins and eunuchs were allowed to cultivate orchards of olive trees. The first documented plantings of olive trees may have occurred during the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and are believed to have been growing around 3500 BC. That civilization predates the discovered Mycenae olive fossils from 1600 BC and later in the Greek empire. Sturt Manning, an archeologist from Cornell University, reported in Live Science Magazine (Apr 28, 2005) that the most devastating volcano in 10,000 years occurred on the Greek Island of Thera, after which the city of Akrotiri was totally buried by the falling ash. The finding of olive wood and olive seed fossils buried near the site has shown through carbon dating that the volcanic eruption occurred between 1660 and 1600 BC and may have contributed to the total destruction of the advanced Minoan civilization (Atlantis) on the isle of Crete and may have led to the formation of the Sahara desert in North Africa after vaporizing the native forests there.

The fragrant flowers of olive trees are small and creamy white, hidden within the thick leaves. Some cultivars will self pollinate, but others will not. The blossoms usually begin appearing in April and can continue for many months. A wild, seedling olive tree normally begins to flower and produce fruit at the age of 8 years. The fruit of the olive tree is a purplish-black when completely ripe, but a few cultivars are green when ripe and some olives turn a color of copper-brown. The size of the olive fruit is variable, even on the same tree, and the shape ranges from round to oval with pointed ends. Some olives can be eaten fresh after sun-drying and the taste is sweet, but most olive cultivars are bitter and must be treated by various chemical solutions before developing into edible olives. If the olives are thinned on the limbs of the trees to 2 or 3 per twig, the ultimate size of the olives will be much larger. The fruit is gathered in mid October and should be processed as soon as possible to prevent fermentation and a decline in quality.

The leaves of olive trees are gray-green and are replaced at 2-3 year intervals during the spring after new growth appears. Pruning yearly and severely is very important to insure continued production. The trees have the unproductive limbs removed, “so that it will be more fruitful” John 15:2. An olive tree can grow to 50 feet with a limb spread of 30 feet, but most growers will keep the tree pruned to 20 feet to assure maximum production. New sprouts and trees will emerge from the olive tree stump roots, even if the trees are cut down. Some olive trees are believed to be over a thousand years old, and most will live to the ripe old age of 500 years.

Olives generally are beaten off trees with poles, harvested mechanically or by shaking the fruit from the trees onto canvas. Most ripening olives are removed from the trees after the majority of the fruit begins to change in color. It is important to squeeze out the olive oil within a day after harvesting or else fermentation or decline in flavor and quality will occur. The olive oil can be consumed or used in cooking immediately after its collection from the press. Olive oils are unique and distinct, each brand of olive oil having its own character, as determined by many factors, like those unique flavor differences found in fine wines. Prepared commercial olive oils can vary greatly in aroma, fruit flavor; whether the taste is, flowery, nutty, delicate, or mild, and the coloring of olive oil is quite variable.

Olive oil produces many health benefits when used in cooking or when poured over salads. The use of olive oil can improve digestion and can benefit heart metabolism through its low content of cholesterol. Experts claim that olive oil consumption will cause a person to grow shiny hair, prevent dandruff, prevent wrinkles, prevent dry skin and acne, strengthen nails, stop muscle aching, lower blood pressure and cancel out the effects of alcohol.

Olive trees can survive droughts and strong winds, and they grow well on well drained soils up to a pH of 8.5 and the trees can tolerate salt water conditions. In Europe, olive trees are normally fertilized every other year with an organic fertilizer. Alternate bearing can be avoided by heavy pruning and generally the trees respond to this very quickly and favorably.

Olive trees should be purchased that have been vegetatively propagated or grafted, because the seed grown trees will revert to a wild type that yields small olives with an insipid taste. Olive trees are more resistant to diseases and insects than any other fruit tree and, therefore, are sprayed less than any other crop.

Even though commercial production of olives in the United States is only 2% of the world market, great interest in growing olives throughout the South has been stimulated by the recent introduction of promising cold hardy olive trees from European hybridizers. Many European immigrants to the United States grow their own olive trees in large pots, that can be moved in and out of the house during seasonal changes.

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By Yasmin M Elias

Olives are one of the oldest foods known to man, dating back some thousands of years in the Mediterranean region. The olive tree was valued as a symbol of peace and happiness and is well-known as a blessed tree. While olives were used as food, olives leaves are widely used for medicinal values and, olive oil are treated as perfect oil for cooking purposes.

Olives are concentrated in monounsaturated fats and a good source of vitamin E. Because monounsaturated fats are less easily damaged than polyunsaturated fats, it’s good to have some in our cells’ outer membranes and other cell structures that contain fats, such as the membranes that surround the cell’s DNA and each of its energy-producing mitochondria. The stability of monounsaturated fats translates into a protective effect on the cell that, especially when combined with the antioxidant protection offered by vitamin E, can lower the risk of damage and inflammation. (In addition to vitamin E, olives contain a variety of beneficial active phytonutrient compounds including polyphenols and flavonoids, which also appear to have significant anti-inflammatory properties.)

It’s true that olives do have some fat, but it’s the incredibly healthy monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats have been found to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and increase HDL (good) cholesterol.

Current research shows there are around 100 naturally occurring compounds in fresh olive leaves. These all work together in ‘natural synergy’ to provide an effective year-round defense system for the olive tree. These compounds include a unique group of powerful polyphenolic antioxidants which are potent scavengers of free-radicals. In simple terms, they defend their cells against attack and damage.

The antioxidants in olive leaf scavenge free-radicals eliminating them before cell damage is done. Olive Leaf does not cure diseases, it is however a cold blooded killer of most pathogens. Once the pathogens have been stunned or killed off, the immune system can rebuild it and cure the disease or get rid of the symptoms. One compound in olive leaf is oleuropein which converts to elenolic acid in the body. The oleuropein and its related sub compounds target viruses and bad bacteria while relaxing blood vessels.

Nutritional Value of Olives
Given below is the amount of nutrients present in three olives, combined together:
Fat – 2.5
Cholesterol – 0mg
Sodium – 110mg
Carbohydrate – 1g
Calories – 25
Protein: 0g
Iron
Vitamin E
Dietary Fiber
Copper
Fatty Acids
Amino Acids

Due to fat content olives are highly energetic especially when ripe. They should be used preferably in the winter. Moreover, Olives are easy to digest if well chewed and, black olives are better than green olives.

The health benefits of Olives, Olive leaves and Olive Oil are listed as follows:

General consumption of Olives, due to their high anti-oxidant properties, help to combat against diseases such as cancer (particularly breast cancer and colon cancer).
The nutrients in olives help to prevent heart disease. Olives Leaves help combat against strokes, heart-disease, High blood pressure, diabetes. The olive leaves tea helps prevent and defends against High blood pressure.

The Vitamin E in Olives may even help to reduce the frequency and/or the intensity of hot flashes in women going through menopause.

The anti-inflammatory actions of monounsaturated fats and, the Vitamin E contained in Olives is the body’s primary fat-soluble antioxidant. Anti-oxidants help to strengthen the body’s immune system; reducing the severity of asthma, cancer, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, premature ageing, as well as delaying the effects of ageing.

Olives are also very light foods (i.e. it contains low calories), but at the same time very filling; being able to quickly satisfy hunger and, lead to fewer total calories ingested at mealtime.
The chronic ulcers and boils, which show difficult healing condition, are healed up with the use of olive oil generally. The local application of olive oil or the water extracted from the crushed olive oil leaves is effective on boils, rashes and itching.

The Olive oil can also be used on hands, hair and as a base for massage oil. When used as a balm it fortifies the hair and it keeps the hair shiny and prevents dandruff.
Olive Oil when used as a balm fortifies and moisturizes the skin, combating dry skin and softening it. It also combats against acne.

Massaged onto the body, Olive oil fortify the limbs, combat against inflammation, and sooth away aches and pains from tired muscles and so on.

Olives aids in digestion and strengthens the bowels, as well as the stomach.

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