Olives // fruit

🌱🌿🤔 Did you know no part of olives goes to waste? Even in ancient times, dry olive residues were burned in the Mediterranean region for heating or cooking. Still today, olive pits can be burned as a former by-product to generate heat, electricity, biogas, and biofuel, just like coffee grounds, grape stalks, and rice husks.

🍅 Much like the tomato, olives walk the fine line between being both a vegetable and a fruit. Technically speaking, they are fruit as they contain a seed and grow from the flowers of a plant.

💪 These little fruits have fiber and are very high in vitamin E and other powerful antioxidants. Eating a small handful of olives (approx 7 olives) a day is good for you. So take any excuse to sprinkle a few of those savory bursts of flavor onto your plates!

👩‍🍳 Olives cannot be consumed directly from the tree; raw or fresh olives are naturally very bitter; to make them palatable, olives must be cured and fermented, thereby removing oleuropein. Jarred olives are enjoyed as they are, out of the jar, but also as pizza toppings, chopped for a spread or in salads, and sprinkled on sandwiches.

👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:
*Store unopened bottles or jars of olives in a cool, dark place (pantry); instead, opened jars of olives last quite a while in the fridge.
*Freezing is a suitable method for preserving olives and can help extend their shelf life. No matter which kind of olives you freeze, an airtight container or freezer bag works best.
*Olives do compost but the flesh of the olive will decompose quickly, while the pits may take longer to break down. 

🌳 The average lifespan of an olive tree is 300-600 years, can reach two thousand years or more. The olive tree, Olea europaea, has been cultivated for olive oil, fine wood, olive leaf, ornamental reasons, and olive fruit.

📗 According to legend, the olive tree is the symbol of the goddess Athena following her victory over the god Poseidon in their competition about who will win the city of Athens as a place of worship and you can still find an olive tree in the same spot atop the Acropolis today.

🌎 Always check the expiry date on the olive jars or packages in your pantry before buying, it could be a starting point to enhance your culinary creations. All of us can act at home to reduce our waste and every single one counts!