Olive Knowledge

Matt:

Why can't I buy black olives in glass jars, just in cans?

-- Olivia, San Diego

You can't buy them in jars because they don't sell them in jars. Ha-ha, hum� Well, its all in a good cause: so you won't poison yourself. Pretty thoughtful, I'd say. Black olives are much lower in acid and salt preservative than green ones, therefore much more likely to host unfriendly organisms. So ripe olives have to be processed at very high heat for several hours as they are packaged, which dictates metal rather than glass.