Olives or olives - what is the difference and benefit?

“What to take - olives or olives?” - many of our compatriots are thinking, puzzlingly sorting jars with these delicious fruits on the store shelf. And really, what to choose?

Olives - the fruit arrived to us from the countries of the Mediterranean. The jars with the fruits of the olive tree took a confident position on the shelves of our stores, winning the hearts of consumers with their unusual taste and abundance of useful substances. However, in our country, some olives “attached” a separate name - olives. That is, green fruits are called olives, and black fruits are called olives. In reality, a separate fruit with the name “Olive” does not exist. In the whole world, olives have only one name - “Olive”.

Olives, or olives are the cooked fruits of an evergreen subtropical tree. European Oliva (Olea europaea). Synonyms of the plant: Oliva cultivar, Olive European, Olive tree; Species of the Olive genus (Olea) of the Olive family (Oleaceae). Oliva European is cultivated to produce olive oil and fruits. In the wild is not found.

Olives or olives - what is the difference and benefit?

Useful properties of olives

The olive tree is immortal - they consider the peoples of the Mediterranean, marveling at its extraordinary resilience. Such a tree grows very slowly, but its life expectancy reaches two and a half thousand years. The fruits of the olive tree are ready to give to those who use them a mass of useful and necessary for the body substances.

Of course, the main product produced by the fruits of the olive tree is the well-known olive oil, which is incredibly useful in cardiovascular diseases. Olives can be divided into two main groups: enriched with fats (from which olive oil is extracted) and table olives (less “oil”), which we consume in natural form.

Many people know that olives have a large number of useful substances, due to which they are classified as products of high nutritional value. However, what vitamins are ready to enrich our body with these wonderful fruits, for the most part of consumers of this product remains a mystery.

So, olives are rich in: unsaturated fatty acids (very necessary for our body), proteins, vitamins of group B, C, E, P, potassium, phosphorus and iron. Acids that make up olives are almost indispensable "building material" for the membranes of the cells of our body.

A person of any age can afford to enrich and decorate his diet with olives. After all, the use of these fruits will serve as an excellent prevention of gastric ulcers and liver diseases, as well as have a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels. Even the bones of the olive fruit, once in the body, will not harm it, because they are completely digested by the gastrointestinal tract.

Olives or olives - what is the difference and benefit?

Olive Varieties

Olives, which we see on the shelves of shops, undergo mandatory culinary processing. This is not an accident. Because of the bitterness and hardness, fresh olives are inedible. In the process of processing the fresh product is salted, pickled, seasoned with pepper, lemons, anchovies and so on. Selection on the shelves of our stores, mainly limited to canned olives. Although in the homeland these fruits can be tasted in a dry salting.

Olives or olives - what is the difference and benefit?

Depending on the degree of maturity and the way of processing, olives are divided into several types:

  • “Green olives” - it is customary to collect before the start of ripening, and the color can vary from green to light yellow.
  • “Combined olives” - it is customary to collect in the process of ripening, however, before the onset of full maturity, and the color can vary from pink to chestnut.
  • “Black olives” (in Russian “olives”) - it is customary to collect after full ripening.
  • Olives “blackened” by oxidation (we also have “olives”) are usually harvested in the immature form and then subjected to special treatment in order to purchase black.

In general, specialists know about about three hundred varieties of olive tree fruit, which they distinguish according to some flavor nuances, shapes and sizes.

Olives or olives - what is the difference and benefit?

A sign of the undeniable quality of this product is the same size and smooth surface of the fruit, as well as the absence of preservatives. And do not buy a jar of olives, if it is deformed or expired.

So, showing a little attention and care, you can safely enjoy the fruits of the olive tree, saturating your body with a mass of nutrients.

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