Description

Olives, as they ripen naturally progress from green to a dark purple and then to fully black. As the fruit progresses through these ripening stages it becomes softer in texture and the colour in the case of the purple and black stages penetrates deeper into the flesh of the olive. As a result of the de-bittering process so me of the dark pigments are leached out of the fruit making the purple/black olives lighter in colour. The extent of the colour loss is directly proportional to the depth of colour when harvested. This can result at times in some variations of colour from a pale to fully black olive, which in no way affects the eating quality of the product.