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.