Black Olives Vs. Green Olives

Green olives are picked when they are not yet ripe and black olives are picked when they are ripe. As olive fruit ripens, it turns from green to red to purple, finally turning black. Olives can be picked at any of these stages, but all olive fruit is inedible until it has been washed thoroughly and then cured. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Types

There are more than 800 varieties of olives, and they come in many sizes. Their flavor, however, is dependent upon the way in which they have been cured. There are five main methods of curing olives: dry-curing, where olives are packed in layers of salt for four to six weeks; brine-curing, where olives are soaked in a solution of water and salt for four to five weeks; fresh-water-curing, where olives are soaked in fresh water for four weeks; lye-curing, a quick-curing method where olives are briefly soaked in either lye or lime and then rinsed; and oil-curing, where olives are packed in salt and then oil. Dry-curing creates chewy, meaty olives, brine-curing creates sour flavors, fresh-water-curing creates a milder, more "natural" olive flavor, lye-curing results in the classic black California olive and oil-curing gives olives a pleasantly firm texture.
Olives of all colors can be treated with the above methods. There is a huge variety of olive-making recipes. Olives can be stuffed during curing, or herbs and other additives can be added to brines. Famous olives include the Kalamata, California Black, Nicoise, Ligurian, Greek Green, Manzanilla, Moroccan and Sevillano.

History

The consumption of olives dates to prehistory. The first olives were made in Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Olives were brought to southern Italy and southern Frances by the Greeks. The Romans invented lye-curing. Olives and olive oil then became an integral part of the Mediterranean diet. Although olives are eaten all over the world, most olives are produced in either the Mediterranean or California.

Features

Green olives tend to be more sour in taste than black olives, partially because they are often brined. Additionally, green olives are often stuffed with a variety of fillings, from pimentos to nuts to anchovies to garlic. Black olives tend to be milder and mellower in flavor than green olives. They are also higher in fat, because they have been allowed to ripen until their oil content reaches its peak. Green olives, because they are picked when unripe, also tend to have a harder texture than black olives, whose flesh is softer.

Uses

Olives have many uses. They can be included in salads, dressings, pastes, sauces, stews and appetizers or they can be eaten on their own. In general, black olives are more likely to be used in cooked dishes than green olives. This is because green olives often have strong flavors, which can overpower other ingredients in a dish. However, green olives are popular in spreads and other cold dishes. In addition, olive fruit is the source of olive oil, which is used across a huge spectrum of cuisines.

Benefits

Olives contain vitamin E, iron and monounsaturated fat, which some people believe can help lower cholesterol levels. Black and purple olives that have been naturally ripened contain antioxidants.