Celebrating National Olive Day

Dan Fruits, This Land of Ours

celebratingCathy Isom gives us a bit of history and tells us the best way of celebrating one of the world’s oldest fruits. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

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When you think of olives, you probably wouldn’t immediately classify them as a fruit. Oh, but they are. The olive is the small, bitter-tasting fruit of the olive tree. Olives are classified as fruit because they’re formed from the ovary of the olive flower, and they’re seed-bearing structures.

olive oil cooking eatingOlives can be picked when they’re unripe and green, or left to ripen on the tree, their colour changing to purplish-black. Either way, they are too bitter to eat straight from the tree: they need to be treated first (usually by being soaked in brine).

Of course, olives are often pressed to produce a versatile oil that’s used in salad dressings or for cooking; olive oil was also formerly burnt in lamps to provide lighting.

The olive branch is a symbol of peace, hope, love and friendship. Celebrating National Olive Day is a fun way to acknowledge the joy this little fruit provides.

I’m Cathy Isom…