Olives: The Noble Fruit's Place in History and at the Table

Platter with a variety of olives, tomatoes and cheeses

There is something surprisingly modest about olive trees, given their noble history and legendary reputation, going back far before biblical times.

The olive tree is one of the heartiest of all trees on the planet, and can survive a variety of climates. These ancient trees, which originated in the region that is today called Turkey, have made a huge impact on all the important civilizations of the Mediterranean for at least 4,000 years — providing food, medicinal potions and the most nourishing of oils. Today there are 800 million olive trees growing on Earth, and no less than 500 different "cultivars," or varieties of olives.

Harvesting olives
Creating the perfect olive
Olives: Beloved culinary favorites

Harvesting olives

The harvesting of olives is almost always done by hand — slow, labor-intensive work, usually done without mechanical devices of any kind except perhaps a rake. Olives are easily bruised and must be handled gently, especially "table olives," meaning those intended to be eaten as antipasti, as condiments or as add-ons for sauces — as opposed to crushed into oil.

Most of the table olives we eat come from Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and California. The varieties of table olives harvested in the Mediterranean area taste particularly rich — such as the Picholine and Niçoise from France; the Kalamata from Greece; and the Taggiasca and Bella di Cerignola varieties from Italy.

Depending on the variety, the shape and texture of olives vary greatly — from tiny spherical orbs to large, plump ovals. Their colors vary as well, but this has to do with how long they have been allowed to ripen on the trees, not with the type. The fruits start out a yellowish green. Then, during the many months of ripening on the tree, they slowly turn to green, then light brown, then a dark purplish — and eventually, black. However, some varieties are green when considered ripe.

When picking olives to make into oil, the fruit must have reached the right level of ripeness to ensure good-quality oil with a low level of acidity. The curing processes used in making table olives renders them edible at all the different stages of ripeness, thus providing their great variety of colors, textures and tastes.

Creating the perfect olive

Given how beloved the olive is, it's ironic how intolerably bitter this fruit tastes when uncured. Unless you have grown up around the trees and developed a taste for its fruit since childhood, it is simply impossible to pluck an olive off the tree and eat it. Only after long, elaborate curing processes and marinating do olives acquire their exquisite taste.

The processes by which olives are made edible — and delicious — vary widely. They can be water-cured, brine-cured, lye cured, oil-cured, dry-cured or sun-dried, like tomatoes. Preserving them in brine (salted water) is the most common way to eliminate the bitterness. This process may take six weeks or up to nine months or longer. The curing time varies depending on the variety of olives and the desired texture and taste.

Today in Italy, olives are still cured in thousands of households in central and southern Italy, as they have been for generations, each family believing that they hold the secret to the perfect way of curing and preserving their olives.

One popular method is to soak the olives in plain water for 10 or more days, changing the water every day.

Then, boil a solution of salt water — one cup of salt to each quart of water — for a few minutes, and store the olives immersed in this cooled solution in sterile glass jars for six months or so.

If you add a clove of garlic, some bay leaves, thyme, oregano, marjoram and some chili peppers to each jar, the olives will taste absolutely delicious.

Today, olives are sold in the market in a variety of ways: natural and pitted; seasoned with a range of herbs and spices; with hot peppers and even with lemon and orange zests. Olives are a natural product; a guilt-free, nutritious food with an exotic, sophisticated taste.

Olives: Beloved culinary favorites

Olives are standard fare at cocktail hours and celebratory gatherings. Olives stuffed with cheese, peppers, anchovies, or almonds add special panache to such occasions.
The intense and varied colors of olives add a decorative flair to Italian antipasti dishes featuring cured meats, such as cappicola, prosciutto and salami.
Black olives, such as Kalamata, are particularly well paired with goat and sheep cheeses, such as Pecorino and feta.
Olives are not limited to appetizer platters and salads. When sprinkled atop pizzas or baked into breads, they add a depth of flavor and texture.

The olive is undeniably one of the most celebrated fruits of all time. Its taste, virtues and mystique have been praised in various religious texts, and have been extolled by philosophers, poets and writers down through the centuries.