Field guide · Autumn (Med)

Olives

Azeitona in Portugal, aceituna in Spain — and neither comes from Latin oliva at all. Both are Arabic, az-zaytuna, from zayt, oil; Portuguese still calls olive oil azeite and every other oil óleo. France, Italy and Germany kept the Latin word. Nobody eats one off the tree: raw fruit is loaded with oleuropein, bitter rather than dangerous, and only brine, lye or long salting takes it out. Green and black are the same fruit at different ages — the table ones come in green from September, the oil ones hang until November. Simplest thing to do with it: warm them with orange peel and a bay leaf.

Noted 2026-08-31