Cathy 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.
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.
Olives 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…