The vast majority of fruits in our country are harvested during the summer and autumn seasons, with the olive being the sole exception, maturing and becoming available in the winter. Even in the depths of winter, the fruit remains greenish in color, hence its common name "green fruit," while some also call it "white olive." A winter delicacy, the olive is effective for treating sore throats.
The olive is an evergreen tree belonging to the Oleaceae family. It blooms in spring and summer, and its drupes are spindle-shaped. The olive is a specialty fruit native to our country, originating on Hainan Island. It is now most extensively cultivated in Guangdong and Fujian, followed by Guangxi and Taiwan, with some cultivation also in Zhejiang, Chongqing, and Sichuan.
There is a common saying, "A layman eats an olive, spitting it out after one bite," which is because fresh olives are initially sour and astringent when first tasted. However, upon careful chewing, they transform from bitterness to a clean sweetness, leaving the mouth full of saliva, making it a truly unique flavor. Consequently, fresh olives are considered a premium fruit for entertaining guests during the Spring Festival.
Not only does the fresh olive have a unique flavor, but it is also exceptionally nutritious. In every 100 grams of its edible portion, it contains 22 milligrams of vitamin C alone and is rich in other nutrients, surpassed only by fruits such as jujubes, citrus, and lychees.
The olive also possesses certain medicinal value. In the "Compendium of Materia Medica," a pharmacologist of the Ming Dynasty noted its effects, including "promoting the production of body fluids, quenching thirst, and treating sore throats." Therefore, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used as a lung-clearing and throat-soothing medicine, primarily for treating swollen and sore throats. During the dry winter climate, chewing fresh olives can moisten the throat, clear heat, quench thirst, and promote the production of saliva, offering numerous benefits.