Questions and Answers

1. What is a table olive?

“Table olives” are the fruit of a healthy, cultivated olive tree, picked while in a proper state of ripeness and of such quality that, when submitted to processes allowed by Spanish regulations, yield a product that is ready for consumption and can be preserved well.

2. How many table olives should you eat?

As part of a varied and balanced diet, it is recommended that you eat seven olives a day. 

Portion: the small or medium dish of olives that bars serve as appetizers.
This amounts to approximately 100g of olives, around 35 average-sized olives.
Such a portion is normally shared among 3 or 4 people, with each eating around seven olives.

Cooking: the proper amount of olives for a cooking recipe is about 25g per person; in other words, 100g for 4 people.
At meal times, twice a week it is a good idea to serve each person 7 olives.

2. What kind of olives should you eat? And who should eat them?

Any kind of table olives are fine to eat.
The ones that are most respected and best-known abroad are these classes: Gordal, Manzanilla, Hojiblanca and Cacereña.

• For people who are watching their weight, black olives are better than green ones because they contain fewer calories. For instance, a black Gordal olive contains 79kcal/100g.
• Persons with high blood pressure should opt for olives with a lower sodium content, such as the black Gordal, which contains 0.6g of sodium per 100g.
• People who get a lot of physical exercise should eat olives rich in minerals, such as the green Manzanilla, which has 1.6g de sodium and 177kcal per 100g.

3. What are the benefits of eating olives?

Table olives have many nutritional benefits thanks to their balanced content of fats, the main one being monounsaturated oleic acid. They also contain significant amounts of the essential fatty acids. Eating olives provides fiber, vitamins and minerals. Adding olives also makes dishes more appetizing and colourful.

4. Under what circumstances is it a good idea to eat olives?

When eaten in the proper amount, olives have nutritional benefits.
The best diet is one which features small amounts of many different foods. It is a good idea to include olives:

• Because they contain non-saturated fats. They are also OK for people with excess cholesterol or triglycerides in their blood.
• As olives contain a lot of sodium, people with high blood pressure, heart trouble or problems retaining liquids should eat them in moderation.

6. How many calories are there approximately in 100g of olives?

Institute of Fat Studies in Seville. Spanish National Research Council. Nutritional Values on Food Labels. 2006