is the olive a fruit or vegetable?

It's a fruit. It doesn't have a huge nutritional value, unless there's some terrific mineral value that I don't know about, & is usually loaded down with salt from the curing process. They're good, though. They're a bit addictive, but are a great accent for a veggie, chips, & hummus party tray, maybe mixed in with some sweet yellow bell pepper slices. That's what I do.

Olives grow in this area of N. California, & I think they grow on small, lovely trees. They ripen & are cured around Nov, if I remember right. So, buy olives, fresh & fancy or fun & easy canned ones. They're good for our economy. So are fresh figs from CA or dates from Arizona, & those are much better nutritionally. Those would be my more frequent choice. Figs are in season right now. Someone brings some to work lately from their tree, & they sure are sweet & good.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive the olive is a fruit. Assumably it is a fruit because it grows on a shrub or tree and has a pit or seed.

fruit

fruit

My spouse and i favor vegetables but like fruits that we use in salad such as tomatoes and avocados.

botanically a fruit since it contains a seed/pit.

fruit..