Olives

Some olives and olive oil are produced in Mexico. There might have been more if the colonizing Spaniards had not first started planting olives, then had greedy second thoughts and uprooted the groves in order to make olive oil a Spanish monopoly. Today olive oil enjoys only limited popularity as a cooking fat; people tend to sauté in lard and use blander vegetable oils for salads and frying. (Few Mexican cooks would go out of their way to use extra virgin olive oil; I have sometimes specified extra virgin where it’s my personal preference, but in most recipes the grade is unimportant.) But olives are a favorite ingredient in dishes like Picadillo Dulce or the sauce for Veracruz red snapper, where a sharp, slightly sour accent is desired. Only brine-cured green olives, similar to some popular U.S. versions, are used.