The Olive fruit is botanically classified as a drupe, similar to the peach or plum. Within the stone are one or two seeds.
Olives tend to have maximum oil content (about 20-30 percent of fresh weight) and greatest weight six to eight months after the blossoms appear. At that stage they are black and will continue to cling to the tree for several weeks. Fruits for oil extraction are allowed to mature, but, for processing as food, immature fruits are picked or shaken off the tree. Olives are measured by their number per liter of net content. One liter of net content can hold from 80 to 400 olives depending on the size
Olives are grown mainly for the production of olive oil. Fresh, unprocessed olives are inedible because of their extreme bitterness resulting from a glucoside that can be neutralized by treatments with a dilute alkali such as lye. Salt applications also dispel some of the bitterness. The processed fruit may be eaten either ripe or green.
Olive oil is classified into six grades:
1. EXTRA VIRGIN. It is virgin olive oil with an extremely fine taste and an acidity of not more than 1%. It comes from first pressings that meet the ultimate standards.
2. VIRGIN OR SELECT. This oil has an exceptionally fine taste and its acidity level does not exceed 2%. It comes from first pressings that meet defined standards.
3. PURE OR EDIBLE. This oil has a good taste and its acidity level is up to 1.5%. This is a mixture of refined and virgin or extra virgin.
4. REFINED OR COMMERCIAL. Consists of lampante from which acid, color, and odor have been removed.
5. LAMPANTE. High-acid oil, obtained from a second pressing of residual pulp with hot water.
6. SULFIDE. Extracted with solvents and refined repeatedly.
Today, Spain and Italy are the world leaders in commercial olive oil production, followed by Greece. Other important olive-producing countries are Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, and Portugal. Europe, with nearly 500 million olive trees, has more than three-quarters of the world’s cultivated olives, followed by Asia.
