Color In Olives: Difference Between Black And Green

The color of the olives changes with maturity

You can tell how ripe olive is by its color.

• Olives are green, to begin with, but change color as they ripen.
• If olives are allowed to remain on the tree long before they are harvested, they will become darker. Black olives are therefore riper than green ones.
• However, there are far more shades of color in olives than just green or black. There are over 330 different types of olives. Some of them turn jet black as they mature, others purple or reddish-brown.
• The degree of ripeness affects not only the color of the olives but also the taste and consistency of the fruit
• Green olives are firm and taste tart to bitter. They also have more pungency and intensity than ripe fruit. Black, ripe olives are softer and have a milder taste.
• However, not every black olive that you find on the market is ripe.

Black olives are often colored

Many olives are “trimmed” for ripeness by turning green fruit black. But then they are ripe, mild olives. The color is for the optics.

• Iron(II) gluconate or iron(II) lactate is used to color olives black. According to food law, both substances are not classified as colorants, but as stabilizers.
• Both ferrous gluconate and ferrous lactate are only approved for coloring olives and are considered harmless to health.
• Colored olives can be recognized by their taste. It still corresponds to that of green olives, i.e. it is intense and a little sharper.
• Packaged black olives do not need to be labeled as colored. When you buy olives in a jar or in plastic packaging, you cannot tell whether they are ripe fruits.
• This is different for olives sold loose: Here the note “blackened” must be visible.