Olive

Olives are found all over the Mediterranean; over 90 percent of the world’s cultivated olives are grown in that region. The ragged-looking trees are among the hardiest species and can live to be hundreds of years old. Their main harvest, of course, is olive oil, but what would we do without the popular small pitted fruit? It is hard to imagine a salade niçoise without the dark olives of Provence, or a martini without a pimiento-stuffed green olive (or my favorite martini olive—stuffed with anchovy). The dozens of varieties, sizes, and colors have one thing in common: They are all green before they are ripe and turn black when left on the tree to ripen. Either way, when first picked, olives are very bitter, and, if they are not pressed for oil, they are always cured in brine or oil before they can be eaten. Olives are used in bread baking.