Among the very largest table-olive producers on earth — and one of the most ancient olive cultures anywhere.
Olives and olive oil appear in ancient Egyptian tombs, offerings and rituals — this is one of the oldest olive cultures in the world. Today that heritage is a vast modern industry: Egypt ranks among the largest producers of table olives on the planet, grown in the Fayoum, the oases and the north. Its mainstay is the big, crisp, apple-shaped Toffahi, eaten young and fresh across the Egyptian table.
Most Egyptian olives are table olives rather than oil, produced on a huge scale and eaten in quantity rather than exported under famous variety names. It is a powerful reminder that the olive belongs to North Africa and the Levant as much as to Europe. The Egyptian olives we’ve covered so far are below.