Ingredient

olives

Olives are the delicious fruits of the homonymous and highly appreciated olive tree, native to the Middle East and widespread throughout the Mediterranean area, of which there are almost 400 different varieties within Italian territory alone. The olives can be yellow, green and or black depending on how ripe they are: the yellow ones are in the primordial stage of maturation, while once they have reached the green color they can be considered medium ripe and, finally, once they have become black they have reached the maximum maturation level. Their natural taste is particularly bitter, due to the high content of polyphenols, and to overcome this problem the olives are pickled.

Use in cooking

It is a consolidated habit to consume olives as an aperitif, although they can be used to prepare a large number of dishes, starting from delicious pasta-based first courses, through to salads, meat and fish-based second courses.

Preservation

The olives, if packaged in jars, can be stored in a cool, dry place. If purchased fresh, they can instead be put in brine, mixing soda with water, changing it three times every 24 hours, and then finally adding 100 grams of salt for every kilo of olives.

Curiosity

Although they are delicious and particularly sought after in the gastronomic field, olives are also used in the cosmetic context, where they are used to create various types of lotions.