What tree's fruit is pressed to make olive oil?

What tree’s fruit is pressed to make olive oil? The answer is the olive tree, Olea europaea. Olive oil is made by crushing and pressing its fruits, commonly called olives, then separating the oil from the watery and solid parts.

The olive is an evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Botanically, its fruit is a drupe, like a peach or cherry, with fleshy tissue surrounding a hard pit. Unlike many sweet fruits, fresh olives are naturally bitter because they contain oleuropein, so table olives are usually cured in brine, salt, lye, or another treatment.

Olive cultivation began in the eastern Mediterranean thousands of years ago, probably between 6000 and 4000 BC. The crop became central to Mediterranean food, trade, religion, and daily life. Wheat, grapes, and olives are often described as the region’s traditional food triad.

A common mix-up is confusing the tree with the oil’s name: the tree is the olive tree, while the oil comes specifically from its fruit. Cultivar, ripeness, harvest timing, and extraction method affect the oil’s flavor and quality.