Olives

Olives

The Greek olive is considered as one of the best in the world and Greece is the second largest olive producer in the EU. The Greek edible olives are distinguished for their quality and are considered as one of the best in the world. Greece produces 100 thousand metric tons of edible olives per year which accounts third share of the world market and second in total exports. There are olives of every size, color and taste. Black, green, thick, thin, medium size, gdonkey-olives, crushed and stuffed. The Kalamon olive: The most famous olive type of the elite variety. Extremely popular in the domestic market is the crushed type entrenched in salt and vinegar. Kalamon olives are farmed in Kalamata, Sparta and Agrinio regions. The fruit has a dark eggplant purple in color, weighs about 5 to 6 g and has the almond shape. They are usually split and marinated in wine vinegar before being packed in either olive oil or vinegar. Cracked Green olives: Tsakistes are brined with fennel and lemon. Known as "martini olives," the cracked green olive is a strong, sharp fruit that is grown in the Amfissa area just northwest of Delphi. Called Tsakistes in Greece, they are picked early and are eaten unripe. They are hit with a stone and packed in water to remove bitterness. Transferred to a brine made from salt, cracked green olives soak for a year with wild fennel stems and lemons added for flavor. Cracked green olives are used in potato and bean salads. Thassos Olives: Thassos are salt-cured, wrinkled black olives. Thassos olivesare wrinkled black olives cured in salt. The wrinkling process comes from being dried in the sun . These are rich in flavor with a chewy texture and are ideal for salads, pizzas and stews or served with just cheese. They are Packed in olive oil with oregano. Konservoelia: There’s a large assortment of sub-types in green, crushed, black and blond olives. Is the most widespread variety of table olive and the richest in nutritional value. Produced in Stereo Ellada it represents 85% of total production. The Throumboelia: This is a small-sized type of olive cultivated in the Athens area, the Aegean, Crete and Thasos. Chalkidiki olive: The Chalkidiki olive type is produced in the northern province of Chalkidiki. Also known as donkey-olive for the huge size of the fruit.