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A medium size black olive has 50 calories and 4 grams
of fat.
Kalamata Olives are called black but actually they
are assorted colors of purple. Kalamata Olives are left on the tree
till they ripe and than handpicked. Not all olives become ripe at
the same time so the hand pick process happens 3-4 times in a period
of 2 months. Handpicked as they become ripe/purple.
All uniformed black olives are
dyed.
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THE OLIVE AND THE FACTS
Today Edible Olives are available in different colors, size, and
treatment. Please keep in mind that:
-
Olives
when picked are green or purple (egg-plant) colored
-
Are
not edible whatever the status is - green or ripe
-
Must
be treated with lye and/or cured in brine or dry salt before being
edible.
-
They
contain about 20% oil.
Olives
must be processed to remove the bitter glucoside oleuropein, before
they become edible, so they are usually first treated with lye and
then pickled.
Greek olives are not treated with lye. The usual process is
to one of the following:
-
pickled in brine for 6 to 12 months (where they undergo a
process of lactic fermentation), and finally packed in fresh
brine.
-
are just packed in dry salt,
Spanish green olives are picked before they are ripe,
treated with lye, then placed in a brine and allowed to ferment.
California olives are treated to set the pigment,
treated with lye and then packed immediately in brine and
sterilized. They do not undergo the fermentation process, and the
sterilization 'cooks' them. This lack of fermentation, and the
'cooking' when they are sterilized produces a bland, uninteresting
olive.
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