Olives

The olive tree is one of the oldest cultivated trees on earth. Archaeological evidence of olive cultivation dates to at least 6,000 BCE in the Levant region — present-day Syria, Palestine and Israel. Ancient olive trees still living today in Gethsemane, Jerusalem are estimated to be over 2,000 years old; some olive trees on the Greek island of Crete are believed to be over 3,000 years old and still bearing fruit. The olive branch became a universal symbol of peace and prosperity across Mediterranean civilisations precisely because the olive tree was so central to survival.

Raw olives are inedible — they contain oleuropein, an intensely bitter compound that makes them unpalatable straight from the tree. Every olive you have ever eaten has been processed to remove this bitterness: either by brining in salt water, curing in lye, or dry-salting. Green olives are picked before full ripeness; black olives are allowed to ripen fully before curing. The same fruit, the same tree, the same grove — but the colour and timing create completely different flavour profiles.

Our olives — grilled green and black, dressed in seasoned olive oil — are served as a meze, the traditional way: small, simple, and designed to open the appetite and accompany conversation before a meal. In Turkey, no breakfast table is complete without them.