Could it be bad black olive that I've eaten?
I tried some black olive on the pizza from a USA style pizza shop and it taste really bad. Given that it is praised as a really good stuff I am wondering if it is a matter of taste or the black olive also have some grading.
What should a good black olive taste like?
Best Answer
Olives are naturally bitter and often fermented in brine to give a salty flavour - so they should taste bitter and salty.
American black ("California") olives are not fermented, which is why they taste milder. If you've never had European (fermented) olives then you'll notice a bit of a kick. It may be that you've never had non-fermented olives and the flavour was just new to you. Olives are an acquired taste.
Also, given that olives are either preserved in brine or fermented they're not likely to go bad for many years. They should keep at least a year, unrefigerated.
Read more about the fermenting process here.
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What happens if you eat bad olives?
There are some scenarios that you might expect after you accidentally eat bad olives. It might result in some annoying food poisoning symptoms such as nausea, vomit, diarrhea, or stomach ache. But these symptoms will be gone after a few hours.How do you know if black olives are bad?
How can you tell if opened olives are bad or spoiled? The best way is to smell and look at the olives: if the olives develop an off odor, flavor or appearance, or if mold appears, they should be discarded. Discard all olives from cans or bottles that are leaking, rusting, bulging or severely dented.Can old black olives make you sick?
The risk of consuming expired olives It is possible that they managed to stay good if they were in the original unopened jar or can and stored in a cool, dark place. But if not, you risk at least an upset stomach, feeling like having food poisoning.Can I eat expired black olives?
But remember, olives, like a lot of other fruits, usually have a best before date and not a use by date. Because of this distinction, you may safely use olives to compliment your favorite meals even after the best before date has lapsed.The Bad Boys \
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Answer 2
Some black olives are not black olives, meaning they are not ripe, but instead green olives that have been made black through a certain treatment with lye and ferrous gluconate. The former for ripening them and the latter for fixing the color. If you compare the two, you'll notice quite a difference in colour and taste.
Black (ripe) olives does not look like this ...
But rather like this. Notice how the colour is more towards a brown or dark burgundy and also varies between olives.
These olives are also not pitted, and you will find that pitted olives often will have lower overall quality (not being real black olives e.g.) and having a slight aftertaste of cardboard.
In short: Yes. At least here in Sweden it is a lot easier to find bad olives than good ones.
Answer 3
I love both green and black olives. However they have very different tastes whether fresh or in brine. Green olives tend to have a much stronger taste than black olives. Green olives have an aquired taste and are bitter whereas the black ones barely have any taste but both are very good sources of both olive oil and fiber. I think the fresher the green olives are the stronger the taste. And when they are put in brine both green and black are milder and easier on the palate. I've never seen an olive go bad and never tasted on that was off. So to answer your question black olives should really taste very mildly bitter if fresh but milder again and salty if from a tin or jar. Also green olives are just black/purple olives picked before they ripen. So it's understandable the green ones will have a more bitter taste.
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