In Focus: The Chemlal Olive
Algeria’s signature olive grows in the mountains of Kabylie, and most Algerians have it in their kitchen without ever naming it: the hardy, dual-purpose Chemlal.
The mountain olive
Chemlal (Chemlal de Kabylie) is Algeria’s dominant olive, accounting for a large share of the country’s groves, concentrated in the cool, rugged hills of Kabylie east of Algiers. It’s vigorous and resilient, suited to higher, harder country than many Mediterranean varieties — and it’s dual-purpose, pressed for oil and cured for the table.
Quietly important
Algeria is a serious olive nation that the wider market rarely talks about, and Chemlal is the backbone of it. The oil is fruity and approachable; the table olives are a daily staple. Like much North African and Balkan production, it’s mostly consumed close to home — one more proof that the olive’s real map is far wider than the export brands suggest.
Chemlal is a reminder that some of the world’s great olive cultures barely register on a supermarket shelf abroad. North Africa — Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia — grows, presses and eats enormous quantities of olives, most of it never seen by a Northern shopper.
Part of the olives101 encyclopedia.