Did you know the main difference between green
and black olives is when they were picked? Green olives are picked
before they are ripe, while black olives are allowed to ripen on the
tree.
After that, green olives are soaked in a solution containing lye,
then fermented in brine for anywhere between 6 to 12 months after
being picked. The longer the olive is fermented, the less bitter and
more flavorful it becomes. Green olives are usually pitted, and
often stuffed with items such as pimientos, anchovies, jalapenos,
garlic or onions.
Black olives are also soaked in lye to lessen their bitterness, then
cured in brine, but rarely stuffed. Green olives contain about twice
as much sodium as black olives, while black olives contain more oil
than green.
Olive oil has been considered sacred since ancient times and is
still used in religious ceremonies today. It was used to anoint
kings in ancient Greece, for grooming bodies and hair in Ancient
Rome, burnt in sacred lamps of temples, rubbed on the first Olympic
athletes to cure muscle aches. Victors in Olympic games were crowned
with wreathes made of olive branches and leaves.
Olive trees can live for over a thousand years.
Speaking of Olives and long living, Popeye's friend Olive Oyl was
the main star of the comic strip for ten years before Popeye took
top billing. She was also the supposed fiancee of Harold
Hamgravy before Popeye stepped into her life.
Olive's family included her brother, Castor Oyl, Castor's
estranged wife, Cylinda Oyl, their mother, Nana Oyl (after banana
oil), their father, Cole Oyl. Olive's nieces Diesel Oyl and Violet
Oyl, her two uncles, Otto Oyl and Lubry Kent Oyl and cousin,
sultry blonde Sutra Oyl.