Athens is named for the Goddess Athena who brought the olive to the Greeks as a gift. Zeus had promised to give Athens to the god or goddess who made the most useful invention.
Athena's gift of the olive, useful for light, heat, food, medicine and perfume was picked as a more peaceful invention than Poseidon's horse - a rapid and powerful instrument of war.
Whether you're the kind of person who gobbles these briny and tiny green tasters at a party, or the kind of person who just picked a couple off their pizza, or the kind of person who just munched one with a dirty Martini, you've gotta give this oily fruit some credit. And for that matter, you've gotta give us, mankind, a little credit for tapping into this bitter beauty.
The olive was native to Asia Minor and spread to the rest of the Mediterranean more than 6,000 years ago. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world - being grown before the written language was invented. It was being grown on Crete by 3,000 BC and may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan kingdom. Olives have been found in Royal Egyptian tombs from 2,000 years BC. 1,400 years ago the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, advised his followers to apply olive oil to their bodies, and himself used oil on his head. During baptism in the Christian church, holy oil, which is often olive oil, may be used for anointment.
And yet, despite this incomparable historic resume, the olive has yet to enjoy its much deserved place-centre stage- in many of our kitchens. If you think you "don't like" olives, I implore you, I intrigue you, and I challenge you to try this much forgotten masterpiece of nature. Your local super-market is guaranteed to be filled with, to quote the great Alton "a veritable pantheon" of different varieties that you can introduce to your family. One tip is to start with recipes where you get the salty, briny flavour of olives, but can hide the texture and appearance with a fine mince.
The modern processes that make this incredible ingredient available to us in so much variety, as well as a lot of useful tips, and delicious recipes are available at:
http://www.oliveoilsource.com
http://www.emeraldworld.net/olive.html
http://www.lindsayolives.com/
http://www.kymiraolives.com.au/index.htm
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