Olives & Tapenades
Olives straight off the tree are too bitter to eat, so table olives are cured with lye, brine, plain water or dry salt to remove that bitterness, then packed whole, pitted, stuffed or puréed.
-
Espinaler - Olives Stuffed w/ Anchovy - 350 g
Regular price $7.59 USDRegular price$9.00 USDSale price $7.59 USDSale -
Ranise - Italian Bruschetta Sauce W/ Sundried Tomatoes - 6.3 oz.
Regular price $17.00 USDRegular price -
Ranise - Sweet Bell Pepper Spread - 4.6 oz.
Regular price $15.00 USDRegular price -
Fratepietro - Bella Cerignola Green Olives - 11.64 oz.
Regular price $21.00 USDRegular price -
New York Shuk - Matbucha w/ Olives & Mint
Regular price $12.50 USDRegular price -
I Contadini - Leccine - Red Olives In Brine - 14.8 oz.
Regular price $20.00 USDRegular price -
Divina - Organic Olive Bruschetta - 6.7 oz.
Regular price $6.49 USDRegular price -
Villa Jerada - Chermoula - 9 oz.
Regular price $12.00 USDRegular price
How to choose Olives & Tapenades
- Green, turning or black. Green olives are picked before they color, turning olives as the color changes, and natural black olives when fully or nearly ripe. Canned black olives are often picked green and darkened by air during curing.
- Treated or natural. Treated olives are soaked in lye to remove bitterness, then rinsed and preserved in brine or by heat sterilization. Natural olives go straight into brine, where they ferment fully or partly over at least 2 months.
- Whole, pitted or stuffed. Stuffed olives are pitted and filled with pimiento, almond, anchovy or other fillings such as onion, celery or capers.
About Olives & Tapenades
Olives and tapenades both begin with cured fruit of the olive tree. A raw olive holds oleuropein, a compound so bitter that the fruit has to be cured before anyone can eat it, quickly with lye or slowly in brine, water or dry salt.
Some olives carry protected names. La Bella della Daunia, from around Cerignola in the province of Foggia, covers green and black olives of the Bella di Cerignola variety weighing from 6 to 30 grams each.
Tapenade is a Provençal spread of capers, black olives and anchovies puréed with olive oil. Its name comes from tapeno, the Provençal word for caper.
At a glance
- Main types
- Green, turning color, black; whole, pitted, stuffed
- Made from
- Cured olives; tapenade adds capers and anchovies
- Once opened
- Refrigerate, covered by their brine
Olives & Tapenades questions
What is a gilda?
A gilda is a Basque pintxo built on a cocktail stick: a salted anchovy and one or two pickled Ibarra chile peppers threaded between olives, with an olive last. It takes its name from the film Gilda starring Rita Hayworth. Ibarra peppers are narrow yellow-green chiles pickled in wine vinegar, so each bite is salty from the anchovy and sour from the pepper.
How long do olives last once the jar is open?
Keep an opened jar in the refrigerator, with the olives covered by their own brine. Water-cured olives, often made at home, are not shelf stable and need to stay cold from the start. Olives sold in jars and cans keep on the shelf until opened because they were packed in brine or heat-sterilized after curing.
How are black olives in a can made?
Olives sold as darkened by oxidation are picked green or turning color, then cured in an alkaline bath while air is bubbled through, which turns them black. An iron salt such as ferrous gluconate can be added to fix the color before the cans are heat sterilized. Natural black olives instead ripen on the tree and ferment in brine.
Sources: International Olive Council trade standard for table olives; University of California Cooperative Extension; Basque Government.
