The Mediterranean folk love ’em and not just for their sexy addition to pizzas, pasta sauce, and salads either.

Considered a fruit, there are specific varieties of olives for oil and eating. Eating olives have to be pickled or cured to be enjoyed…unless you love an extreme bitter taste.

We hear a lot about health benefits of olive oil and not so much on olives as a whole food. You might be surprised to learn that olives have a significant allergy anti-inflammatory action, blocking histamine receptors at the cellular level. Good news for hayfever sufferers.

You might also like to know that 1 cup of olives will provide 24.6% daily value of iron. This naturally varies between varieties of olives and preserving methods.

Here I’m enjoying stuffed and crumbed olives. Really tasty…and excellent vegetetarian substitute for popcorn chicken as a naughty little treat.