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20 TYPES OF OLIVES YOU PROBABLY SHOULD GET TO KNOW

You probably know olives as black or green. However, people around the world use numerous types of olives for different purposes. Some are great as cooking oil, while others are preserved, marinated and consumed as snacks. At Olive Envy we are all about enjoying the right olive at the right time. Come and see us for oliveducation at any of our markets each weekend👩🏻‍🏫


In the meantime, here are 20 olive types you should know if you plan to explore global olive cuisine.



1. KALAMATA OLIVES: Kalamata olives come from Kalamata City in Greece. These black olives have meaty, satisfying textures that “explode” in your mouth when chewed. Kalamata olives are popular as garnish, oil ingredient, pickles, or preserves. We have a great selection of these in our range at https://www.oliveenvy.com.au/olives


2. CASTELVETRANO OLIVES: Castelvetrano is one of the olive varieties with natural sweetness. They are known as “snack olives,” with smooth and buttery textures that taste pleasant in the mouth. Castelvetrano hails from Sicily, and it’s perfect to eat with Italian cheeses or wines.


3. NICOISE OLIVES: Niçoise olives are grown in limited numbers on the French Riviera. These olives are small with large pits, but they pack intense flavour profiles. Niçoise olives are savoury and slightly bitter, with hints of nuttiness. They are great to be eaten with aged blue cheese and red wine.


4. CERIGNOLA OLIVES: Cerignola olives are Italian green olives famous for their large sizes. Despite the impressive look and meaty texture, Cerignola olives have a subtle, buttery flavour. The light flavour is perfect to introduce novices to snack olives.


5. PICHOLINE OLIVES: Growing in France, Morocco, and Italy, Picholine olives are ideal as snacks or olive oil. Farmers wait until the olives turn black before picking them to make oil. Picholine olives are also famous as cocktail garnishes. The flavour is mild with a little hint of citrus, perfect for seafood dishes.



6. NYON OLIVES: Nyon olives hail from France, famous for their small, black forms. Nyon olives are not bitter, and they taste great after being brined, cured, or dried. These olives have a delicious mild flavour, perfect to be eaten on French bread or crackers. The flavour also goes well with various nuts, scallops, rice, cream cheese, garlic, and basil.


7. LIGURIA OLIVES: Growing in the border between France and Italy, Liguria olives offer intense flavours with a hint of bitterness. They are usually harvested after their colours change to black or brown. Liguria olives are rich with vitamin E. You can just eat them with bread, or mix them into a salad, pizza, and sauce. Check out our mixed marinated olives


8. GAETA OLIVES: Gaeta olives have dark brown to black colour, with less saltiness level than the other olive types. Gaeta olives can be stored in a fridge or brining liquid. These olives are ideal for salad, pasta sauce, or pizza topping. The mild flavor will not interfere with your dishes.


9. GORDAL OLIVES: Gordal is another large olive type. Gordal olives are picked when they are still green. They have a mild flavour with a subtle sweetness. Gordal olives have flesh that sticks to the pit, so they are usually not pitted. Varieties grown in California have high oil content, making them ideal for olive oil.


10. ALFONSO OLIVES: Alfonso (Alphonso) olives hail from Chile, Peru, and Argentina. They are large and often preserved in red wine vinegar. The result is a slightly sour flavour when you bite into the Alfonso olive. The olives change colour into purple when brined or preserved.


11. MISSION OLIVES: If you want to get olive oil benefits and flavour at the same time, choose oil made of Mission olives. These olives are small, but they have a beautiful reddish colour. Unlike Gordal olives, Mission olives have pits that are easy to remove. The subtle flavour and black colour make these olives perfect to create cute treats for kids during Halloween.



12. MANZANILLA OLIVES: Manzanilla olives are the kinds of olives you will see getting skewered and served in cocktail glasses. Hailing from the Mediterranean, Manzanilla olives have bright and bursting flavours, with mild saltiness. They are great to eat with bread, salad, or sausage.


13. BELDI OLIVES: Beldi olives hail from Morocco and pack intense flavours in their small sizes. Beldi olives have small and wrinkly shapes, with a chewy texture. The flavour is very vibrant, with the combination of mild sweetness and intense saltiness. Beldi olives are great for appetizers, cheese salad, and antipasto.


14. AMFISSA OLIVES: Amfissa olives hail from Central Greece, with small sizes but intense flavouring. Amfissa has, at first, a mild and buttery flavour, but its flavour lingers to a combination of buttery and citrusy. Amfissa olives are great to eat with cheeses.


15. AGRINION OLIVES: Agrinion olives are a general term for fruit for olive-processing. Agrinion olives are any of those which are used to make preserved condiments. The brined Agrinion leaves sour and rich flavours. Their flesh remains firm and buttery, and you can de-pit it easily.


16. ARBEQUINA OLIVES: Hailing from Catalonia, Arbequina olives are small but delivering intense flavours. The olives have bright colours, from pink to orange. The flavour is so rich, creamy, and buttery. Because of its texture and high oil production, Arbequina is more ideal for making oil. However, the younger olives are also turned into table snacks.


17. CORDOVIL OLIVES: Cordovil olives are small, green olives with buttery, slightly bitter, and spicy flavours. The oil content is in the mid-level, so the olive oil production is a little exclusive.


18. LECCINO OLIVES: Leccino is probably the most famous fruits for making the original Italian olive oil. Leccino olives are small, with darker colours that look more intense when the fruits grow older. Leccino is a type of black olive, which you can enjoy whole.


19. VERDIAL OLIVES: Verdial olives consist of five olives, but all of them have similar characteristics. Verdial olives have a lot of oil and thick skin. They have a bright green colour, with hints of bitterness and spiciness in every bite.


20. LUCQUES OLIVES: Lucques olives mostly grow in the Languedoc area, France. The green ones are ideal for the dining table, because they have a sweet, mild, but buttery flavour. The flesh is meaty and bouncy, with some hints of almond or avocado.


And that is all 20 varieties we have time for today. Want more antipasti suggestions? Come and visit Olive Envy at your local markets. 💃 Hopefully, you have some new varieties in mind to try for your next olive soiree.




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