| Today, you go to the store and buy a little container | | | | were then kept in wine, vinegar, and salty water. |
| of olives. You can get them in all different shapes | | | | Olive oil was created to help preserve the olives. |
| sizes colors, and more. You can buy them with | | | | Olive oil was a great source of the Ancient people's |
| pimentos in them or not. Many wonder how this food | | | | diet because it was their main source of fat. You |
| became such an important part of Greek culture and | | | | might think that fish was a main source of their diet, |
| large part of their diet. | | | | but these things were very expensive so common |
| Ancient Greeks used olives as there main source of | | | | people mainly just had olive oil. It is not as it is today |
| fat instead of meat from animal because they | | | | where people eat a large variety of food no matter |
| thought it was an unhealthy way of getting fat, since | | | | who they are. Ancient Greece was a very socially |
| the barbarians (non Greeks) ate that way. In | | | | unequal place. |
| actuality, the barbarians ate meat and their products | | | | If you ever dip bread in olive oil, you are carrying out |
| such as milk and cheese because they were nomadic | | | | the actions of an aristocratic meal. In ancient times, |
| and had no way of growing an olive tree or preparing | | | | common Greeks mostly ate porridge and not bread |
| olives if they saw any. | | | | for carbohydrates. Bread was a lot of work to make |
| Preserving olives was possible because there was salt | | | | and was not a common food among them. |
| everywhere! Since Ancient Greece was a huge island | | | | Today, olives are eaten by anyone who has a few |
| basically, salt was easily accessible and allowed them | | | | bucks and can walk or drive to a store. Not so in the |
| to preserve olives with ease. | | | | days of past. Still, ancient Greeks still figured they |
| To preserve their olives, first ancient Greeks would | | | | could turn tiny strange spherical objects on a tree |
| gather them while they where not ripe. They left | | | | into a delicious and nutritious food for all of the |
| them in eater that they changed every 12 hours with | | | | Mediterranean. |
| water that contains wood ash and then again cleared | | | | George Christodoulou, |
| the water. It might have taken a week. To decrease | | | | If you have any more questions about ancient greek |
| the time sometimes they would cut them with a | | | | foodor you would like to read more about ancient |
| knife. They, oil would come forth from the olives but | | | | greek foodplease visit, for more information. |
| this was just used to help preserve them. They | | | | |