The olive trees are cultivated in the entire Island and many trees are well over a few centuries. The fruits of this tree are mostly pressed into oil but large quantities are processed and eaten pickled.
The olives are very bitter and to become edible they must go through a procedure of curing with salt or vinegar or soaked in a lye solution and fermented in brine. The type of curing and the time in which the olives are picked will produce either black or green olives. The green olives are picked before ripening, soaked in a lye solution, rinsed and covered with water then cured in a brine solution (water and salt).

The black olives are picked ripe, allowed to ferment in a brine or vinegar solution and when they are mature, packed in oil or vinegar. I must mention another type of olive which I like a lot, the dry cured. They are picked very ripe, allowed to slowly ferment by sprinkling with salt and when most of their moisture is eliminated, they are rubbed with olive oil and garnished with rosemary. They are slightly bitter but once you acquire a taste you will love them! Since I can remember, at dinner time, my mother placed in two small dishes some green olives “cunsati”– seasoned and dressed-, and some dry black olives, as part of the table setting.

Below are some of the classic Sicilian ways to prepare green olives.