Photo Getty Images
With
so many delicious varieties to choose between, from juicy and meaty to buttery
and briney, there's an olive for every occasion and every palette.
Here's
our pick of some of the best Greek olives for eating or cooking. How many have
you tried?
1. Kalamata
Image: arsheffield/flickr
A
popular choice, regal and distinctive deep purple and shiny skinned kalamata
olives have a rich and fruity flavour, leaving fans in little doubt why they're
crowned the queen of olives.
2. Conservoila Olives
Including
Amfissa, Volos, Amphissa, Agrinio, Stylida and Atalanti.
Source: Sagliklimiyim.com
These
large, oval olive are some of the most commonly produced table olives produced
in Greece. While they start off a rich dark green when unripe they finally turn
dark, bluish-black when mature.
3. Amfissa
These
characteristic round, mellow olives hail from central Greece where they are
harvested by hand when very ripe. They have a meaty and mildly sweet soft
flesh.
Source: DeLallo
4. Tsakistes
This
distinctive wrinkled olive is native to Greece and commonly grown in the Attica
region. The word “tsakistes” actually means, “cracked,” in reference ot their
skin.
Source: Greek Boston
5. Halkidiki
The
famous pale green oval Halkidiki olive is grown and harvested exclusively in
northern Greece on the Halkidiki Peninsula. Their plumpness and meaty bite with
a fruity, briny, buttery and pleasantly sour flavor make them a great table
olive.
Source: Olivellas SA
Want
to brush up on your olive geography?
Try
this Greek Olive Map we came across by UrbanGrains. Click on the map to
enlarge.
By FDL