I am sure at some point you have been curious as to why there are two types of olives: green and black. When I first started getting acquainted with Mediterranean cuisine, it was one of the first questions I had. I thought they must be from different families of olive tree, but I was wrong. This may come as a surprise, but black olives are actually the same green olives, but without their ripening process having been interrupted; in other words, they are the ripe fruit of the olive tree. In this respect, black olives are just as nutritious as green olives, although, needless to say, they have different nutritional values.

Nutritional differences between black olives and green olives

The principal difference between them is that the black olive, harvested at peak maturation, has almost twice the amount of oil and calorie content. This give it a more intense flavor which, personally, I love. Furthermore, as with green olives, its oil content is beneficial to health by helping to prevent and eliminate cardiovascular disease. As for the vitamin content, both green and black olives are fairly even.

In essence, black olives are very nutritious and healthy to eat. I imagine that you will also agree with me that they are delicious in salads, pastas, on pizzas, and even as an appetizer before a meal.

Source: NCBI