Olive

Olives can be offered once baby is about 6 months old and ready for solids. They are a fruit native to the lands around the Mediterranean. Many varieties grow today in sunny, warm regions across the world. Spain's Arbequina is fruity, Morocco's Beldi is meaty, Italy's Castelvetrano is buttery and Greece's Kalamata is dark. Colors go through brown, green and black, which depends on ripeness and how the olive is processed. Fresh olives are very bitter, so they are cured to take the bitterness out.

Olives supply healthy fats, omega-3 and omega-6, fiber, plus calcium, iron, vitamin E and vitamin K. They also hold plant compounds with antioxidant effects. These support energy, gut health, brain growth, immunity and bone density.

Remove the pit. For babies, spread olive paste on toast strips or stir it into vegetable purée. Finely chopped olives mix well into soft, spoonable meals. After 9 months, thin rings work. After 12 months, you can cut olives lengthwise into halves or quarters.

Sodium can be high in olives. Babies eat little at first, so total sodium tends to stay low, and some sodium is needed for fluid balance and movement. Sharing family meals gives babies a wider range of tastes and textures. It still makes sense to begin with small portions of salty olives.

An opened jar of olives keeps in the fridge for about 4 weeks. Olives from a self-service counter follow the same rule.

Olives are round, slippery, sometimes firm or springy, and may hold a hard pit, so the choking risk is high. Always remove the pit. Even olives sold as pitted can still hold one, so check each olive.

Should a child get a pit in the mouth, stay calm. A pit may be swallowed, spat out, or pushed forward by a gag. Kneel in front of your child, stick out your tongue, calmly ask them to spit it out and cup a hand under the chin.

Olives rarely cause allergy. In regions where olives are harvested, contact dermatitis and olive allergy have rarely been seen.

People allergic to olive tree pollen or with pollen food syndrome may be sensitive to olives. The olive's plant family also includes ash, privet, jasmine and forsythia. The reaction is a passing itch, burn, or tingle in the mouth, and it is not usually dangerous. In theory it could reach cold-pressed oil, but most people allergic to the fruit tolerate olive oil.

Give a small amount for the first few servings. If nothing happens, increase it slowly.