(Mod Comment: Posts moved to form a new thread. KK)
To me, all olives taste the same. Whole or sliced, so I'm not a big fan of them.
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JAS_OH1
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I'd have to disagree on that. Huge difference in black, green, kalamata...I don't love black olives but I'll eat them. I like kalamata and castelvetrano the best.
Maybe that's because you've only tried the processed ones out of cans. Castelvetrano olives taste of butter, Kalamatas are slightly smoky and fruity, Lebanese cracked olives are piquant and salty, Spanish gordales remind me of freshly cut grass, and my favourite of all, Moroccan dried black olives. Just super-perfumed.
Yeah, you might be right! I'll set up an olive tasting today! Thanks a lot!
Olives are a staple food in the Meditteranean and Middle East, where the shrub originated, and have been around for thousands of years. These days, olives are also grown in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and several countries is South America
JAS_OH1
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Who started with those black canned ones? They just taste so much better out of a jar!
My DH likes blue cheese stuffed, I like garlic stuffed. We both like pimento stuffed.
I prefer them unstuffed. I want to taste the olives themselves and then I can pair them with other ingredients. Its best to buy with the stone in, as this retains their flavour much better.
I'd agree that jarred ones are better but I think we probably get very different brands/types in the UK. Its difficult to compare.
I just stocked up on some Lebanese stuffed olives (stuffed with red pepper, but in a heavily paprika-flavoured brine) and some Lebanese cracked olives. Additionalli, I've got kalamata and Moroccan cured olives, as well as a jar of "black olives in brine"
The last ones, as well as the tinned olives, are the ones I usually try and avoid. only in my cupboard for emergencies because they're basically flavourless - a bit like tinned mushrooms.
The last ones, as well as the tinned olives, are the ones I usually try and avoid. only in my cupboard for emergencies because they're basically flavourless - a bit like tinned mushrooms.
JAS_OH1
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Kalamatas are my favorites I think.
How do you get the pits (stones) out? I bought them like that and got complaints from everyone so I buy pitted now.
Apparently it was a French chef, Nicolas Appert, in the early 19th century.
And even better out the barrel. Lebanese, Turkish, Greek and Spanish markets will sell them to you by weight, straight from the barrel, where they were simply brined.
JAS_OH1
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We have olive bars at some supermarkets and small family-owned grocers. Yum.
Me too. There are literally hundreds of varieties, so hundreds of different flavour profiles. Probably the worst are those ready sliced things, which taste of nothing, or rubber bands.
I'll eat them all, however. Stuffed olives come in a remarkable number of varieties these days. I've had them stuffed with pimiento, garlic, anchovy, salmon, blue cheese, chestnut (they are really good!), jalapeño and rocoto chiles. All good!
Jungle Jim's (the international market and favourite grazing place for TastyReuben) has a really good selection.
And in Morning Glory 's home town, there is (or was) a Turkish grocery with 8-10 different varieties.
JAS_OH1
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Yeah, since Cincinnati is about 3 hours each way from my house, I don't go there very often, LOL! I am planning on going through that area on our way south but we won't have time to stop and shop...