Why do green olives come in jars, but black olives come in cans?

For my extra post today, I can credit my awesome husband.  This is one of the many things I love about him.  He tells me interesting facts and stories.  Where does he get these stories?  Audible.  My husband is addicted to audio books.  He can’t buy enough or borrow enough from the library.  He reads (listens to) about 16 books a month.  The topics are very diverse.  One day he is reading Nelson Mandela’s Biography, the next day he is reading a book about Olive Oil.  He also listens to lots and lots of podcasts.  He listens to all of these books/podcasts on triple speed.  When he first started doing this I made fun of him because I caught him talking faster.  I can’t understand triple speed, but he can.

Ok, back to olives.  A few nights ago he randomly asks me the question “do you know the difference between green olives and black olives”? 

Me “the color”

Dave laughs and then proceeds to tell me the interesting factoid between the two.

On a side note, a few minutes before I started writing this post, I asked my 5 year old daughter “Do you know the difference between green and black olives?”  You already know the answer.

Isabella “the color”.

Like mother, like daughter.

So, here is the interesting story about the difference between green and black olives and why one is found in a jar and the other is found in a can.

Basically olives start out the same.  Olives are grown on a tree. 

 

 

Color:

 

 

If they are picked at full size, but before ripening, they are green.  If they are picked at full maturity and ripened, they are shades of dark purple to black.

Packaging:

 

 

Green olives are pickled in jars and often stuffed with pimentos and other sorts of food.  Black olives are artificially ripened using lye and other chemicals.  These chemicals must be washed off prior to packaging.  After they are rinsed off, they must be heated to kill any bacteria.  This can’t occur in jars, but can in cans.

My question for you, the reader, which do you prefer, black or green and why?