A big North African producer with an ancient mountain olive culture.
Algeria is one of North Africa’s major olive countries, with a deep, ancient growing tradition centred on the terraced mountains of Kabylie, east of Algiers. Its dominant variety is the hardy, dual-purpose Chemlal de Kabylie, which gives a fruity, golden oil and a traditional table olive and is woven into Berber life and cooking.
Most Algerian oil is consumed at home rather than exported, so it is little known abroad — but the tradition is real and old, and a Kabylie Chemlal is a fruity, golden taste of a North African olive culture the export shelves overlook. The Algerian olives we’ve covered so far are below.