Table Olives: From Picholine to Kalamata
Not all olives are for oil — the great eating olives are a world of their own. A quick tour of the names worth knowing, and what each one tastes like.
The green and the giant
Picholine (France): small, firm, crisp and nutty — the classic green aperitif olive. Castelvetrano (Sicily): bright green, buttery and mild — the gateway olive everyone loves. Manzanilla (Spain): the everyday Spanish green, often stuffed. Gordal (Spain): the huge, meaty “fat one” sold as Queen olives.
The dark and the rich
Kalamata (Greece): the almond-shaped purple-black icon, rich, winey and fruity. Nyons (France): wrinkled black, deep and mellow. Gaëta (Italy): soft, brown-black, the heart of puttanesca. Nocellara (Sicily): the dual-purpose green behind both great oil and great snacking olives.
Beware the bland, uniform “black ripe” canned olive — that’s a green olive darkened by oxidation and lye, not a naturally ripened one. Real table olives are cured slowly and taste of something. Buy them from a deli counter or a good jar, in brine, and let them shine.
Part of the olives101 encyclopedia.