The Secret Life of an Olive!

At the Heart of the Olive: It All Begins with a Pit

It all begins with a pit.

Over the following weeks, the endocarp, which surrounds the seed, gradually hardens through a process called lignification, forming the olive pit. Around it, the flesh -  known as the mesocarp - slowly develops.

Botanically, the olive is a drupe, just like a cherry or a peach. It consists of four parts: the skin (exocarp), the flesh (mesocarp), the pit (endocarp) and the seed.

The Pit Forms, the Flesh Grows

After fertilization, the young fruit begins to develop. The pit gradually hardens while the flesh thickens and the olive grows in size.

It is within this flesh that oil will accumulate throughout the summer, as the fruit develops.

Each stage prepares the olive for what it will eventually become: the fruit we harvest a few months later.

Next Up: How Is Olive Oil Made?

How does an olive actually produce its oil?

Inside its cells, a remarkable biological process gets underway. Carbon captured by the leaves is used, among other things, to produce the fats that will eventually become our olive oil.

Join us for the next episode to discover how an olive produces its fat!