Who figured out how do you eat olives?

The Phoenicians spread the olive to the Mediterranean shores of Africa and Southern Europe. Olives have been found in Egyptian tombs from 2,000 years BC. The olive culture was spread to the early Greeks then Romans. As the Romans extended their domain they brought the olive with them.

How did the ancients cure olives?

After soaking olives in brine to get rid of the bitter taste, they soaked them in vinegar for a few hours and finally stored them in olive oil. One author recommends a gourmet recipe: preserve the olives in vinegar that has been boiled with wine and spices such as coriander, cumin, fennel and mint.

Can olives be eaten straight from the tree?

While olives are edible straight from the tree, they are intensely bitter. Olives contain oleuropein and phenolic compounds, which must be removed or, at least, reduced to make the olive palatable.

Why are raw olives edible?

Whether steeped in oil or a salt brine, olives only become truly edible after curing. The raw fruit is bursting with oleuropein, a bitter compound that must be removed prior to eating. After the olives are cured they are placed in a pickling brine.

What did the Greeks do with olives?

Throughout ancient Greek history, olive and other types of oil performed a variety of functions. It was perfumed and worn on special occasions, including while attending a symposium. It was used in cooking or consumed as a part of a meal. A Roman-period author and traveler named Pausanias (8.42.

Did the ancient Greeks eat olives?

Olives, which are technically a fruit, were one of the primary foods in Ancient Greece. The Greeks used oil to cook and olives were also a common appetizer. Other important fruits included figs, pomegranates, apples, pears, and grapes.

How do you make fresh olives edible?

Harvested olives must be “cured” to remove the bitterness in order to make them palatable. The most common curing processes use brine, dry salt, water, or lye treatments. During these curing processes the water-soluble oleuropein compound is leached out of the olive flesh.

How do you process olives at home?

How To Cure Olives At Home

1. Place your picked olives in a food grade container.
2. Pour your brine over the olives to cover.
3. Loosely seal a lid over the container and place in your pantry.
4. Leave the olives for 3 weeks to ferment and then tighten the lid.
5. After 2-3 months your olives will be ready to eat.

Where did olives originally come from?

The wild olive tree originated in Asia Minor where it is extremely abundant and grows in thick forests. It appears to have spread from Syria to Greece via Anatolia (De Candolle, 1883) although other hypotheses point to lower Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, the Atlas Mountains or certain areas of Europe as its source area.