Olive

“Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.” Proverbs 21:17 (NIV Bible)

Olives are fruit found on the tree Olea europaea and are from the family Oleaceae, a family of flowering plants, and they range from 1 to 2.5 centimetres (0.4 to 1 inches) in length.
Olives are native to Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean and were first cultivated significantly in the Middle East, and later the Mediterranean.
The word ‘olive’ originates from the Latin word ‘ŏlīva’, which is derived from the Greek ‘elaía’ and ‘elaíon’, and the fruit is a renowned symbol of wisdom, victory, fertility, peace, power and purity.
The colder months of autumn and winter, is the time that olives are typically harvested, and they are eaten at their various stages of ripening, and start as a green colour, and then turn brown, purple then black, although, sometimes black coloured olives are produced by chemicals.
Olives, when fresh, are notably bitter, and the bitterness is generally removed via various curing or fermentation processes.

Spain was the main olive producer in the world in 2011, growing 7,094,000 tonnes (7,820,000 tons) of the world production of 18,003,000 tonnes (19,845,000 tons), and only 5% of the world’s production is grown outside of the Mediterranean region.
Olives can be eaten uncooked or cooked usually in savoury dishes and often in Italian cuisine, notably with cheese, breads, pizza, pasta, fish and meat.
Olives are usually very high in sodium, due to the curing process, and are a good source of vitamin E.
Commercially, 0lives can be obtained in their natural state, pickled, spiced, stuffed, or pitted, and are often stuffed with pimento (sweet peppers).
Of all olives harvested, a massive 90% are used to make oil, and the oil is used extensively in cooking.

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