Green and black olives are grown on the same trees.
Olives trees are evergreen trees which can grow up to 30 ft. tall. Olives are native to Mediterranean countries, tropical and central Asia, and certain parts of Africa; however, they are also grown commercially in California, South Africa and Australia.
Olive Fruit
Olives develop as green drupes when they are unripe and will change color to reddish/purple and then black as they ripen. Therefore, a is simply an olive which is not yet fully ripe while black olives have fully ripened.
Olive Treatment
Olives are often pickled or cured in an oil or brine solution before they are able to be consumed. However, green olives need to be cured in lye before being pickled in brine, while black olives can be brine-cured straight away. The longer the olive is left to pickle in the brine, the more intense and sweeter its flavour will become.
Preparing Olives
Green olives are often pitted and filled with various stuffings, such as almonds, anchovies, peppers and capers, to enhance their flavor and taste. Black olives are less likely to be stuffed with extra filling; however, they do contain more olive oil than green olives. Black olives will also be softer to the touch and higher in fat due to the length of time they have spent ripening.
Eating Olives
Due to the bitterness and harder outer shell that often comes with a green olive, they tend to be used more as a snack or appetizer. Black olives will tend to be used more as ingredients for cooking as they don't overpower the flavour of the other ingredients used in the recipe. They are often found on freshly-made pizzas and salads.
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