Olive and its Types

I'm sure olive lovers like me are in the majority, so I wanted to share with you this short information I gathered from the internet. By the way, how is my olive plate :)

Olive Types:

Green olive:

In autumn, the green grains are collected when they start to turn color. After they are cleaned and separated according to their size, they are washed with lye in large pools so that the bitterness will go away. Then, the olives in the pool are washed 3-4 times with clean water, and they are filled into barrels and kept for 2-2,5 months with the salted brine poured on them.

Black olive:

It comes mostly from Turkey and Greece in the world. It is prepared in two ways. Brine in water and dry brine. Olives are arranged in a barrel with coarse salt and the lid is closed by pouring water on them. It is kept up to 30 days. This is Brine in Water. Dry Brine, on the other hand, is made by placing the olives in baskets with thick salt and keeping them for 15 days.

Key point:

If you want to remove the excess salt from the olives, fill the container with the olives with warm water. Put a peeled potato in it and leave it for 3 hours, all the excess salt will pass into the potato.
Those who need to eat unsalted olives with the doctor's advice, if they cannot find unsalted olives, what they should do is to draw the olives and boil them for 1-2 hours. It may not be free of all salt at once, then it is necessary to repeat the boiling process.

Short description:

Due to the bitter substance (oleuropein) in the olive fruit, it cannot be eaten immediately like other fruits plucked from the tree. However, olives grown in the vicinity of Karaburun can be eaten as they are plucked from the branch due to the ability to date, depending on environmental conditions. The taste, smell, color and texture of olives are affected by factors such as the maturity of the olive, the characteristics of the variety, and the processing method applied. The olives that come to our tables take the following names: Pickled black olives, Saddle olives, Boots or crushed olives, Caustic green olives (cocktail), Caustic black olives (confit). Olives are processed through some processes before they come to our tables, and with these processes, the bitterness substance is removed. In order for the olive to become edible; -Salt -Salt water (brine) - Caustic (sodium hydroxide) is used. Only saddle olives with salt, black, green and boot olives in brine with brine, and cocktail green olives and confit black olives (olives flavored with caustic and given black color with food coloring) are made using sodium hydroxide (caustic). Saddle olives and pickled black, pickled green and boot, cracked olives are called natural olives. Natural olives may be preferred more by consumers than those flavored with caustic due to their high nutritional value.

Olives are presented to our tables in different color tones. The fact that the olives offered for consumption are in different colors (for example, the presence of color in brined black olives, brown, dark brown, black and similar color tones, and in boot olives, green, yellow, pink and other color tones) does not indicate that the olive is of poor quality. On the contrary, this is an important sign that the olive was made without the use of food coloring and other dyestuffs. Olives with completely black color can also be offered for consumption. This situation is due to the variety of the olives, as well as the preparation of olives during the over-maturity period. In such olives, black color; It can also extend from the shell to the core.

When buying full black or dark bluish black olives with low salt, it should be considered that these olives are flavored with caustic and colored with food dyes (ferro gluconate or ferro lactate suitable for Food Codex and health). This type of olives should be served to our tables in glass or tin cans, after being subjected to thermal (pasteurization and sterilization) treatment. Consumers should consider when buying low-salt black olives that are sold in the open, that they can spoil in a short time and harm health. Other points to be considered and considered when buying olives: First of all, it should be sought that the product is packaged and branded, and that the production and expiration dates and nutritional values ​​are written on the label. When the package of black olives in brine is opened, it can be seen that the black color of the olive turns into dark and light brown color tones. This is a natural state. However, the olive returns to its old dark color shortly after contact with the air. Packaged products that have been bombed (inflated) should not be taken. This is because, besides showing that the microorganisms that spoil the olive have developed, it also shows that the olive has not completed the required sweetening period and that it lacks the heat treatment required for hygiene or that the heat treatment is insufficient. The labels of tin or glass jars that have been preserved by heat treatment should be stated as pasteurized or sterilized. Considering that the olives offered for sale in rusted and torn packages may have been packaged and stored in unhygienic and inappropriate environments, such olives that can deteriorate in a short time should not be bought. When purchasing products with visible glass or plastic packaging, care should be taken to ensure that the olive size is homogeneous and the brine is clear. The presence of the olive variety and company name on the label of the olives sold in the open is necessary as a quality assurance for the consumer. For this reason, the presence of a packaged sample alongside the product sold in the open should be an issue that should be sought by consumers.