Know your olive
In Focus: The Nocellara del Belice Olive
The round, electric-green Sicilian olive sold abroad as Castelvetrano — a rare olive that is brilliant both on the plate and in the bottle.
Read the story →Sunday 20 September 2026Since 2004 · in English and French · from someone with nothing left to sell
Every type of olive, and the oil it becomes.
Kalamata Olives: What They Are, How They Are Made, How to Use Them
A true Kalamata is a specific Greek cultivar, almond-shaped, deep purple-black, split by hand or knife and cured in brine, often finished with red…
September 15, 2026Olive Allergy: Pollen Is Common, Fruit Is Rare, Oil Is Rarer
Most olive allergies are to the pollen, not the fruit or oil. Symptoms of all 3, whether you can still eat olives, and which tests to ask a doctor about.
September 11, 2026From Grove to Frozen Pizza: How an Olive Becomes a Topping
The black olive slice on a frozen pizza is one of the most heavily specified pieces of fruit in the food supply, and almost none of that work is visible…
September 10, 2026Guides
How to Cure Your Own Olives (Without Lye)
Straight off the tree, an olive is inedible — bitter enough to make you wince. Curing is how we fix that, and you can do it at home…
- How to Taste Olive Oil
- How Long Do Olives Last? Storage and Shelf Life
- Olive Oil Grades Explained
- Olive Tree Care: Watering, Pruning and Feeding
Comparisons
Kalamata vs Black Olives: What’s the Difference?
Kalamata are ripened and brine-cured. Tinned black olives are picked green and oxidised. Why one tastes of wine and the other of almost nothing.
- Extra Virgin vs Virgin Olive Oil: The Difference Is a Number
- Early-Harvest vs Late-Harvest Oil
- Black Olives vs Green Olives: What’s the Difference?
- Olive Harvesting: Hand vs Machine
Kitchen
Cooking With Olives: A Practical Guide
An olive that is delicious from the jar can wreck a dish, because heat does three things to it: it drives out salt, it softens the flesh, and…
- Cheese and Olive Pairing Guide
- Chicken Marbella: The Olive and Prune Dish That Refuses to Date
- The Gilda: Three Ingredients on a Stick, and the Best Olive Snack in Spain
- The Best Olives for Pizza: Which Varieties Actually Work
Stories
The Oldest Olive Tree in the World: ~4,000 Years in Crete
In a village in Crete stands an olive tree up to 4,000 years old — still making olives. A timeline of everything it has outlived, and the one…
- The True Cost of an Olive: Where Your Money Actually Goes
- How Olive Oil Gets Cut: Blending, Refining & Fraud
- Olive Oil Fraud, Explained
- The Most Expensive Olives in the World, and What You Are Actually Paying For
Types of olives, A to Z 87
- Adramytini
- Aglandau
- Alfonso (Botija)
- Alorenña de Málaga
- Arauco
- Arbequina
- Arbosana
- Ascolana Tenera
- Athinolia
- Ayvalık
- Biancolilla
- Blanqueta
- Bosana
- Bouteillan
- Buža
- Carolea
- Casaliva
- Castelvetrano
- Cellina di Nardò
- Cerasuola
- Cerignola
- Changlot Real
- Chemlal de Kabylie
- Chemlali
- Chetoui
- Cobrançosa
- Coquillo
- Coratina
- Cornicabra
- Domat
- Dritta
- Empeltre
- Farga
- Frantoio
- Gaeta
- Galega
- Gemlik
- Gordal
- Grossane
- Halkidiki
- Hojiblanca
- Istrska Belica
- Itrana
- Kalamata
- Kalinjot
- Kolovi
- Konservolia (Amfissa)
- Koroneiki
- Leccino
- Lechín de Sevilla
- Lucques
- Madural
- Manzanilla Cacereña
- Manzanilla
- Maurino
- Megaritiki
- Memecik
- Mission
- Moraiolo
- Morisca
- Niçoise (Cailletier)
- Nocellara del Belice
- Nocellara Etnea
- Nostrana di Brisighella
- Nyons (Tanche)
- Oblica
- Ogliarola Barese
- Pendolino
- Peranzana
- Picholine Marocaine (Beldi)
- Picholine
- Picual
- Picudo
- Rosciola
- Royal de Cazorla
- Salonenque
- Sevillano
- Taggiasca
- Tanche
- Throuba Thassos
- Toffahi
- Tonda Iblea
- Tsounati
- Verdeal Transmontana
- Verdial
- Villalonga
- Žutica
From the archive
Easily Retrieve Olives From Jars
The humble jar of olives hides a few real problems — fishing them out, keeping them under brine, storing them…
Olives and Olive Oil for Beauty
Long before the cosmetics aisle, the Mediterranean cared for skin and hair with one bottle from the kitchen. Olive oil…
Bumper crop for New Zealand olive oil producers
A bumper olive harvest sounds like good news — but for a small, home-market industry it can be a headache.…
Interview of V N Dalmia, President of the India Olive Association
Over the next four years olive oil consumption in India is expected to increase nine-fold to 42,000 tonne. Increasing awareness…
Jordan drought may claim thousands of olive trees
The olive is the poster child for drought toughness — yet droughts still kill them by the thousand. The paradox…
Olive Oil Sector Could Be Shaken Up By New Labelling Rules
EU law now forces olive oil to say where it really comes from. It is why 'bottled in Italy' can…