The Olive

The fruit of the olive tree: More than 600 varieties of olive trees are cultivated around the globe, but only few of them are suitable for processing and production of table olives.

Whether a variety is suitable for the production of table olives depends on the production of fruits with certain characteristics. The most important ones are the following:

• The olive’s flesh to pit ratio.
• The high sugar content of the fruit.
• The easy processing of the olive (uniform color, easy curing).
• The uniform and suitable size of the fruits.
• The proper color of the olive.
• The thin skin of the olive fruit.

Olives are an exquisite food. Apart from their being a complete food, they are also an indispensable complement for any meal, generously offering health and longevity. Researches on the nutritional value of edible olives have confirmed their benefits to our health.

The olive fruit is an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids, which reduce the levels of LDL cholesterol, while having a beneficiary effect on the levels of HDL cholesterol, protecting the arteries since the fat of the olive Contains approximately 73% monounsaturated fatty acids, 12% polyunsaturated and 15% saturated (a total fat content ranging from 16 to 30%).

Besides fats, it contains 1.5 - 2.0% proteins, 1.0-1.3% minerals and 4 - 13% nitrogen free extracts. The unprocessed olive is very rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, as well as in manganese, iron, sodium and traces of copper.

The olive provides the organism with dietary fibers and minerals, and constitutes a source of vitamin E, a natural antioxidant. Nowadays, its preventive action against health problems, like arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, hepatic dysfunction and the diseases of the nervous system, is well known. Vitamin E is also considered to slow down the changes in the cell membranes and to fight osteoporosis.

In the Mediterranean countries, where the consumption of olives and olive oil is high, the occurrence of heart problems is significantly lower than in the northern countries, where other types of fat are consumed.

An indicative energy value of the olive fruit is given below:

TYPE/QUANTITY	CALORIES
Olives black (100 gr)	118
Olives green (100 gr)	97

The harvest begins around the end of each year and lasts a few months. It is done carefully in order to preserve the quality of the fruits, which are then directly transferred to our facilities, where they are being processed for a period of 3 to 4 months until they reach maturity, at which stage they are ready for consumption.

The annual production gives us the following Olives:

• Giant
• Extra Jumbo
• Jumbo
• Extra Large
• Large
• Superior
• Brilliant
• Fine
• Bullets

They are available in various forms, such as whole olives, pitless olives, cut in half and in slices, in the corresponding quantities.