The question "Are olives a fruit or a vegetable?" is a longstanding inquiry that has confounded botanists and cooks alike. Botanically speaking, olives are fruits, as they are the seed-bearing organ of the olive tree. The fruit's definition from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, defines a fruit as a plant structure that contains seeds and develops from the flower of a flowering plant. This encompasses olives in their natural, unprocessed state, which can be green, red, black, or yellow and is encased within a stone (or pit).
However, when olives are harvested and processed, they become a popular condiment for meats, sandwiches, salads, and pizzas. In this form, they are typically served with a savory brine, making them taste somewhat like vegetables, but this is merely a matter of culinary convenience and preparation. The chemical compounds that make olives bitter, such as oleuropein, are leached out by processing or curing and are not present in the edible portions of the olive that are commonly consumed. Thus, while olives are biologically fruits, their culinary characteristics often lead people to categorize them as vegetables for practical purposes.
The controversy around the classification of olives is further compounded by the North American judicial system's decision in 1893, which ruled tomatoes to be a vegetable for tax purposes. This instance underscores the nuanced and largely arbitrary nature of what is classified as a fruit or a vegetable, depending on the cultural and legal contexts in which they are used.
In summary, olives are fruits according to botany, but in everyday language and culinary practice, they are typically treated as vegetables. This is a testament to the adaptability and versatility of olives, which have earned their place in a wide variety of dishes around the world.
