Agrinion Olives are a style of prepared olive made from Conservolia Olives. Conservolia trees are native to Agrinion (Agrinou) on the Ionian coast in Greece. The olives are quite large. They are harvested and sold anywhere from light, dull green to pinkish or dark purple. Whether green or black, they are cracked then cured in…
Greek Olives
Amfissa Olives
Amfissa Olives are a style of prepared olives made from Conservolea olives grown in the Amfissa valley at Delphi, in the central mainland of Greece. The Conservolea trees start bearing olives in 3 to 4 years. The olives can be harvested green or black. When black, they are actually a dark purple to a very…
Atalanti Olives
Atalanti olives are purplish-brownish to green table olives that are harvested as they start turning purple. They have a soft, meaty texture and a fruity taste with just a touch of bitterness. They ripen early in the season. They are cured in brine, then stored (sometimes in vinegar), and shipped. They are grown and produced in…
Conservolea Olives
Conservolea is a Greek cultivar of olive. The olive is round and firm. It is the most widely grown type of olive in Greece. Many Greek styles of prepared olives, such as Agrinion, Amfissas and Volos, are made from this olive. It is particularly used to make black olives from (though not Kalamata olives.)
Elitses Olives
Elitses Olives are very small, black olives, with way more pit than flesh and a sweet, fruity flavour. Though they are mostly used for oil, you can buy them brined for eating. As they are so small, they are usually sold unpitted. You eat them whole and spit the seeds out. History Notes Elitses Olives…
Gigas Olives
Gigas are large, Greek table olives that are harvested when purple. Language Notes “Gigas” in Greek means gigantic.
Greek Olives
Sixty percent of agricultural land in Greece is used for growing olives, allowing Greece to account for twenty percent of the olives grown in the world. Greece grows the greatest variety of olives, and produces the most black olives in the world. Sixty percent of the olive oil it produces is Extra Virgin. It produces…
Green Atalanti Olives
Green Atalanti Olives are green Atalanti olives, harvested earlier than the more ripe black Atalanti olives. They are often marinated in red-wine vinegar, which gives them a tangy flavour and makes them a pale-ish grey colour. Cooking Tips They can be cooked with; they won’t shrink.
Halkidiki Olives
Halkidiki Olives are prepared table olives made in the Halkidiki Peninsula near Mount Athos, Northern Greece. Both green and black table olives are made. The green ones are cured in a salt brine. They end up firm, crunchy and tangy. They are sometimes sold in salt brine, sometimes in oil. When the olives are harvested…
Hondroelia Olives
Hondroelia are very large, oblong Greek olives, up to 5 cm (2 inches) long.The olives are slit, then brine cured for anywhere from several months up to a year, then packed in olive oil or in a combination of brine and olive oil. The olives are pink and brown coloured, or green dappled with brown….
Ionian Olives
Ionian Olives are table olives made on the west coast of Greece on the Ionian sea.They are large, bright green olives with a firm crunch. They have a mild taste, because no vinegar is used in the curing or preserving.
Kalamata Olives
Kalamata Olives are prepared olives produced in Southern Greece. Though they are classed as black olives, they are actually a dark purple. The olives are medium-sized and oval, with flesh that separates easily from the pit. They are cured in brine with red wine vinegar, then pickled in wine vinegar and olive oil, and packed…
Kaliva Olives
Kaliva Olives are black olives grown near Delphi. They have firm flesh and a strong flavour. They are usually sold pitted.
Koroneiki Olives
Koroneiki are the main variety of olives grown for oil in Greece. The tree can be planted in high-density orchards, and will start producing olives 2 to 3 years after planting. It needs another type of olive tree to cross-pollinate with. The tree produces small olives, but in compensation, the tree is a prolific bearer….
Lesvos Olives
Lesvos Olives are grown on the Greek island of Lesvos (Lesbos.) Both green and black table olives are produced, as well as olive oil. The table olives are sold in cans and jars. The black ones are dark purple / light black. Production is organized by and sold through the Union of Agriculture Cooperative of…
Mammouth Olives
Greek misspelling of the English word for “mammoth”, to designate large-sized olives. Many people think consequently that this is a separate type of olive.
Megaritiki Olives
Megaritiki Olives are a small to medium-sized olive variety native to Greece. They are grown in Attica for green olives, black olives and oil. For green olives, the olives are harvested earlier, then cured in brine, then packed in either oil or brine. For black olives, the olives are let get very ripe, then they…
Nafplion Green Olives
Nafplion Green Olives are small to medium-sized olives. They are cracked before being cured in brine. They are sold in brine, oil, and oregano or in brine with lemon slices and peppers. The olives are firm with a salty and slightly sour taste. Nafplion is a seaside town 150 km south-west of Athens, Greece.
Thasos Olives
Thasos Olives are Greek prepared olives made from Thrubolea olives. They are made on Thasos (aka Thasou), in the northern Aegean Sea. The olives are harvested when fully black and wrinkled. They are dry-cured, then packed in olive oil. Thasos Olives have a strong, rich flavour and are chewy and meaty.
Thrubolea Olives
Thrubolea Olives are grown on Crete, Thasos and a few other Aegean Sea Islands. The olives are small to medium-sized with a small point at one end. When fully ripe, they go completely black. They used for oil and table olives. Thasos (or “Thruba”) Style Black Olives are made from these.
Tsakiste Olives
Tsakiste Olives made usually made from the Megaritiki cultivar of olives, though sometimes they are made from Nafplion Olives. The olives are harvested when green. They are cracked (actually slitted) before being cured in brine. After curing, they are marinated with herbs, often also with garlic and lemon wedges. They are made in the Attica…
Volos Olives
Volos is a style of prepared Greek black olive made from Conservolia olives. The large, oval olives are allowed to fully ripen to a deep purple on the tree. They are marinated in oil. Vólos is a city in Magnisia, Thessaly, Eastern Greece.