In news:rec.food.cooking, Mark Thorson > posted on Fri,
19 Mar 2010 11:42:02 -0800 the following:

> Damaeus wrote:
>
> > But don't olives taste rather bitter if they haven't been salted to Hell
> > and back?
>
> Olives are naturally very bitter, and the purpose of curing them is to
> remove that bitterness.
>
> A favorite trick of olive farmers is to show visitors the olive trees
> laden with dark, ripe olives and invite them to try one. Invariably,
> they have to spit it out because it is so darn bitter, while the farmer
> is laughing his ass off.

Yes, knowing that, the farmer could never get me to bite into an uncured
olive. So then comes the question, if olives are so bitter, how can
anyone like them with if they aren't salty? I guess if you like the taste
of black coffee, you might be more inclined to be able to actually eat and
enjoy a raw, or uncured olive....and maybe some ear wax to dip it in,
which is also very bitter. ... heh. It was an accident that I found that
out, by the way. The Harry Potter jellybeans aren't quite right in that
regard.

Damaeus