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 →Wednesday 11 November 2026Since 2004 · in English and French · 25 years in the olive trade
Every type of olive, and the oil it becomes.
Watering an Olive Tree in a Pot or in the Ground: A Simple Schedule and the Tools That Help
A simple olive tree watering schedule: weekly when newly planted, every few weeks once established, in a pot when the top 2 inches dry,…
November 9, 2026Olive Tree Zone Guide: The USDA Zones Where Olives Grow
Olive tree zone guide: olives grow outdoors in USDA zones 8 to 11. What each zone means, microclimates, pots for cold areas and where the US grows olives.
November 6, 2026Olive Tree Leaves Yellow or Dropping: Check These Things in Order
Olive tree leaves yellow, curling or dropping? Check the season, soil, roots, light, recent changes and cold, in that order, then read each symptom.
November 3, 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)
- Aloreña 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
Mario Solinas Quality Award 2011: Spain and Portugal Sweep
The 2011 Mario Solinas Quality Award went to El Labrador, SAOV and Sociedade Agricola do Conde. The results, the rules,…
Olive Council Sees the Second Biggest Crop on Record
The olive council puts world olive oil production at 3.08 million tons, second only to 2003/04, with Morocco, Syria and…
Expoliva Opens in Jaen With Credit for Growers
Expoliva 2011 opened in Jaen with Andalusia promising loans to producers selling below cost. What the fair says about a…
A Seed Compound That Could Catch Oil Adulteration
A new olive oil adulteration test looks for trigonelline, a compound seed oils carry and olives do not. Cheap and…
India’s Olive Oil Imports Jump 60 Percent in a Year
India imported 4,187 tonnes of olive oil in 2010, up 60 percent. Spain and Italy take 90 percent of it,…
A Wet Year Points to a Record Australian Olive Crop
The Australian olive harvest is starting with forecasts of 16,000 to 19,000 tonnes after a very wet year. What the…