Research shows that olives are as old as the western civilization itself ! Archaelogical evidence shows that the fruit was cultivated by the Mediterranean civillization as far back as 2500 BC.Till today, olives have held their place in cuisines of this region and have been accepted by people from all over the word. Having stood the test of time,they are now a staple the world over.
Olives themselves are not only flavourful but provide several nutritional benefits. They are known to have the correct kind of monounsaturated fat, which lowers cholesterol and keeps the heart healthy. They are rich in vitamin E, iron and copper and are a great source of fibre. Its one of the few healthy foods that do as much good for the body as it does for the taste buds.
Olives are always either pickled or cured but never really eaten in their raw form. This is because they contain oleuropin which is bitter, so bitter that they are inedible. It is said that in ancient Greece, bags of olives were hung over the sides of boats so that the salt water would extract their inherent bitterness. During the process of curing, table olives undergo partial or complete fermentation which makes them edible. Most of the methods of curing or pickling have been passed down from antiquity and include curing with oil, water, heat and lye. In ancient times, people soaked the bitterness out of olives with salt water. Green olives must be soaked in a lye solution before brining.
Once 'cured' of their bitterness, olives may be pickled in brine itself or washed and preserved with a few cloves of fresh garlic and pepper corns in olive oil. The seasoning for pickled olives may include herbs, spices and herb and spice mixes such as rosemary, bay leaf, tarragon, celery, spices such as cloves and even saffron and other vegetables like carrots and celery. Green olives are also stuffed with various fillings, including pimientos, almonds, anchovies, jalapenos, onions or capers. The longer the olive is permitted to ferment in its own brine, the less bitter and more intricate its flavour will become. Unopened olives can be stored at room temperature up to 2 years. Opened olives should be refrigerated in their own liquid in a non-metal container and will last up to several weeks after opening.
Broadly classified olives are either black or green. The truth of the matter is that all olives start out green and as they ripen their colour progresses from a wine-rose to a deep purple or a purplish black. Many cuisines celebrate table olives.
In Mediterranean cuisine, olives are used in almost everything, from starters to desserts. Olives are omnipresent in Spanish, Italian, French, Lebanese, Isreali, Palestinian and Turkish food. Olives are astoundingly versatile. They can be included in appetizers, salads, pastas, dressings, sauces, stews or they can be eaten on their own. Black olives are more likely to be used in cooked dishes because green olives usually have strong flavours, which can overpower other ingredients in a dish. However, green olives are popular in spreads and other cold dishes.
A Greek meal invariable involves a fresh salad containing feta cheese, Kalamata olives and tomatoes dressed with olive oil. Olives stuffed with Greek feta are also exceptionally delicious. Napfplion olives, named after the region in which they are grown are firm and juicy, they are the most frequently used type of green Greek olives in Greek cuisine; they can be served as a snack or appetizer. Halkidiki is a tangy green olive from Greece's Halkidiki peninsula. But the most iconic black olive is perhaps the Kalamata olive from southern Greece, which is used liberally in Greek dishes.
The Italians,too, use olives in many ways. They are added to bakes, stews, pasta dishes and risottos, sliced and used as a pizza topping, made into a paste for spreading on bread, eaten as a snack or as part of an antipasto dish. Cerignola is a popular green olive originally from south-eastern Italy. This variety is green in colour, large and crisp, with a robust, sweet flavour. The Ponentine, Sicilian and Lugano are other varieties of Italian olives.
Olives are popular in Spanish dishes as well. They can be found in a wide variety of Spanish dishes, most notably Tapas, the Spanish repertoire of appetizer served with drinks. Manzanilla is the most versatile and highly marketed green olive from Spain. Available unpitted or pitted and stuffed with garlic or pimento, these are cured lightly in lye or salt brine and are perfect with a pale, very dry Spanish sherry of the same name. Arbequina have a faintly smoky and nutty flavour and are typically cured in a mix of Mediterranean spices.
The French have Paupiettes de boeuf, a classic beef olive dish. Tapenade is a spread originating from Provence in southern France which consists of black olives, capers and anchovies pureed in olive oil. If the black olives chosen are Tanche, they add a wonderful hint of figs and hazelnuts. The most widely used green olive in French cuisine is Picholine. Nyons in France is home to one of the most prized French olives, Tanche olives. Introduced by the Greeks around the fourth century BC, 'la perle noire' or ‘the black pearl' as Tanche olives are also called, have large pits and a thick, meaty flesh. They are brined, dry-cured or crushed to make a delectable spread.