Description and characteristics of the best varieties of olives, how to choose in the store
On the shelves of shops there is a variety of olives of various varieties. They differ in color and size, type of packaging, country of origin. Popularity as an appetizer on the holiday table is common because of its zesty taste. No less popular is olive oil, a tasty and healthy product.
General description of the plant
Olive has been cultivated since ancient times; today, wild trees cannot be found. It occurs in the form of a tree and a shrub, as a rule, reaches a height of no more than 10-12 m. The leaves of an evergreen plant are gray-green on the upper side, silvery from the lower, narrow, elongated shape. The bark of a young tree is light gray, darkens with age.
Flowering begins in April when the plant is covered with small white flowers collected in a brush. After a year, the tree bears oval-shaped fruits up to 4 cm long, the color of which changes as it ripens from light green to dark brown and dark purple, almost black.
Useful and harmful properties of olives
According to ancient Greek myth, the olive is a gift from the gods to people. And this is true, because the pulp of the fruit contains a lot of vitamins, trace elements and unsaturated fatty acids.
The list of useful properties of olives is quite long. They lower cholesterol, strengthen the walls of blood vessels, normalize metabolism, have a sedative effect on the nervous system, and increase hemoglobin.
In addition to taking the fruit inside, creams and lotions with the addition of olive oil are used. Vitamins A and E in its composition have a beneficial effect on the skin.
Olive leaves are also used for medicinal purposes. Brewed in the form of tea, the leaves of the olive tree increase immunity and reduce nervous tension.
As for contraindications, olives practically do not have them. People suffering from cholecystitis should be treated with caution due to the choleretic effect of the fruit. The mild laxative effect makes it undesirable for diarrhea. It should not be forgotten that any canned food contains a large amount of salt, so it is better to exclude them in case of gastritis and stomach ulcers.
Difference between olives and olives
In Russia, green fruits are called olives, and black ones - olives. In fact, it is one and the same fruit of the same olive tree - the European olive. All over the world, the word for fruits of different colors is the same - olives.
Green fruits are unripe, and black fruits are already ripe, harvested two months later than green ones. But black color is also obtained after stabilizing the color of green unripe fruits with the help of additives.
Popular varieties of olives
Olive varieties are most often named for the geographical area where they grow or where they come from. Among the most popular are the following.
Kalamata
It grows in the south of Greece near the city of Kalamata. When ripe, they acquire an eggplant color and fruity taste. Large almond-shaped fruits have juicy flesh. It always comes on sale with a bone. It is widely used in Provencal cuisine for making pasta and bread.
Cracked green olives
To remove the bitterness from unripe green fruits, they are beaten with a stone, which is why a bright characteristic of this variety appeared in the name. After pretreatment, they are marinated in salted water with aromatic ingredients such as wild fennel and lemon. The resulting characteristic flavor makes them a popular addition to alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Thassos
To give a rich taste and viscous texture, black olives of the Thassos variety are dried in the sun and kept in salt. After the fruits look like raisins, they are served with cheese, used as an additive to salads and stews, and put into pizza. Sell wrinkled black olives packed with oregano in olive oil.
Manaki
The fruits are light green in color and have a distinct olive flavor. The size and weight are small. The firm crunchy pulp, easily separable from the stone, is especially appreciated. They ripen slowly.
Blond Conservolea
The variety is used for making snacks for traditional Greek vodka. For this, unripe fruits are collected and marinated in a mixture of an aqueous solution of sea salt and red wine vinegar.
Koroneiki
The Koroneiki variety is characterized by its small size and rich aroma. More than half of all olive oil in Greece is produced from this particular variety, which is why it is called the "Queen of Olives".
Halkidiki
The variety is native to the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece. Once pitted, large olives are often stuffed using a variety of fillings.
How to choose olives?
The overwhelming majority of fruits end up on store shelves in canned form. When choosing, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Integrity of the packaging. The product is sold in glass, cans, plastic packaging. There is no significant difference, but any container should not have visible damage. If there are dents on the tin can, it is better to refuse such a purchase.
- Composition. Read the packaging information and select a product with fewer additives. It must be remembered that more preservatives are added to the stuffed fruits to preserve the filling, such a product is less useful.
- Shelf life. Canned olives are stored for a long time, but when the shelf life expires, the product becomes hazardous to health.
- The size of the olives. If a hostess is going to stuff olives at home or use them to prepare a dish, size can make a difference. On the packaging it can be found in the form of a number indicating the number of fruits per 100 g. Moreover, the larger the number, the smaller the olives themselves.
- Olive color. If it is possible to see the color of the fruit through a glass jar or vacuum packaging, you should pay attention to its uniformity. Despite the variety of olive colors depending on the variety and degree of ripening, one fruit should not be spotted, and all olives in one package should be the same shade.
Growing, nursing and harvesting
If a gardener decides to grow an olive tree on his site, he must remember that not all climatic conditions are suitable for the plant. If it is not possible to provide the necessary conditions in the open field, they are grown in closed greenhouse-type buildings and at home. In this case, shrub and undersized varieties are chosen.
A native olive from the Mediterranean, it will not survive the frosty winter. The root system of a tree can withstand a short-term cold snap to -15 degrees, but prolonged frosts are destructive. The least frost-resistant flowers. With frosts during the flowering period, the harvest will be significantly affected. The tree tolerates drought well, but does not like flooding, which is why it is important to ensure good drainage. Does not tolerate olive trees and shading.
When caring for a tree, it is important to regularly prune the crown, otherwise you will not achieve a good harvest. Particular attention must be paid to the prevention and timely control of diseases and pests, the resistance of which in the plant is rather weak.
Taking into account the beneficial properties of olives, they can and should be given a place in your diet. It is not without reason that the inhabitants of the Mediterranean, who constantly eat olives, are famous for their longevity.
