The olive has been cultivated since ancient times as a source of olive oil, fine wood and olives for consumption. The fruit, being bitter in its natural state, is typically subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to make it more palatable.Green olives and black olives are soaked in a solution of sodium hydroxide and then washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a naturally bitter carbohydrate.Green olives are allowed to ferment before being packed in a brine solution. American black ("California") olives are not fermented, which is why they taste milder than green olives.
