Quality over quantity — France’s olives are about appellations, not oceans.
France is a modest producer with an outsized reputation, and its olives reflect that: small, distinctive, often protected by appellation. The crisp green Picholine is the apéritif olive of the Midi; the crescent-shaped Lucques of the Languedoc is a connoisseur’s treasure; the wrinkled black Nyons (the Tanche) was France’s first AOP olive; and the little Niçoise (Cailletier) is the soul of a real salade niçoise.
Because true French olives are scarce and dear, their names are among the most borrowed in the trade — a “Niçoise” abroad is very often Spanish Coquillo. Honest sellers say “style.” The French olives we’ve covered so far are below.
The backbone of Provence’s AOC oils — a green-picked olive giving a fresh, artichoke-and-almond oil. Dual-purpose,…
A traditional Provençal oil olive — giving a green, fresh oil with artichoke and almond notes,…
The plump black table olive of the Vallée des Baux in Provence — soft, fruity and…
Lucques — France’s elegant crescent-shaped green olive: crisp, sweet and buttery.
Nice's own small dark olive — the real Niçoise, the Cailletier cultivar, and a protected name…
The olive of Nyons — France’s first AOP olive: a sweet, nutty, wrinkled black olive of…
The slender, nutty, crunchy green olive of the French Midi — table and oil, plus substitutes.
Provence’s classic table olive — the “olives cassées” of the Vallée des Baux, cracked and cured…
The Provençal cultivar cured into the famous wrinkled black Nyons olive — France’s first AOP olive…