Olive Varieties

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

The olive is a particularly valuable fruit. There are many cultivated varieties of it, which, depending on their widespread use for the extraction of olive oil, are more or less known.

The "Arbequina" variety is grown in Spain, Argentina and many other places. Planting from it can grow well in a pot-container and grow olives almost at home. The fruit is small, violet-black in color, with a high concentration of oil and with an unobtrusive fruity taste of an orchard. Due to its high content of linoleic acid and the tendency to oxidize, olive oil should be stored in a cool and dark place and consumed quickly after opening the bottle.

It would be good to add it to fresh salads and to avoid its heat treatment, as its aromatic substances evaporate quickly. Suggestion for serving "Extra Virgin" olive oil from this variety of olives: mix the olive oil with freshly chopped garlic, sea salt and fresh finely chopped tomatoes, then put this mini-salad on a toasted slice.

"Cailletier" variety is found mainly in its homeland France and Italy. It can also be found under another name: "Niçoise". This is because the olives from it are the main ingredient in a popular French salad, called precisely "Niçoise Salad" and which originates from the city of Nice. These black olives are both suitable for olive oil production and for consumption as a fruit. Despite their relatively large stone, up to 25% olive oil can be obtained from them. Its taste, resembling almonds and hazelnuts, is pleasant, light and is preferred by people who are accustomed to using mainly another type of oil.

Hojiblanca is a particularly valuable olive variety in Spain and literally means "white leaf", which comes from the white color on the inside of the leaves of its tree. The olive oil from these olives is the most preferred and bought product on the Spanish market, and its exports cover over 70 countries. It is ideal for frying and for making bread and pasta. This olive oil also has a high percentage of fatty acids (75). The content of saturated fatty acids is the lowest compared to other brands of olive oil, which makes it ideal for diets. The fruit of "Hojiblanca" is relatively large and violet-black, immature has a slightly bitter taste. Extremely preferred as a table olive because of its firm fleshy skin.

Aglandau olives are grown mainly in France, where they originate, and their plantations are found in Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Their olive oil is known for its good quality and long-term storage. It smells like "almond", "green apple" and is ideal for cooking pork. These olives are medium-sized, have a rather fruity-sweet taste, green color and difficult to remove stone. They can be used in serving cheese and salads, such as table olives. Used as popular as "Beruguette".

Kalamata / Kalamata / is a Greek variety of olives. Their ripe fruit is dark purple, soft and fleshy. Often used as a table olive, as well as in canning wine vinegar or olive oil. Kalamata is a recognizable olive tree because of its unusually large leaves - at least twice as large as other varieties. Once the olives are picked, they should be put in water or light brine for about a week.

Then they are treated in wine vinegar or in saltier brine together with a layer of olive oil and finally covered with slices of lemon. Olives can be cut to shorten the process. The longer method of processing them involves arranging and soaking them in a can of salt water for about 3 months. This is done in order to remove their strong bitterness. The olive oil from "Kalamata" olives has a subtle grassy taste.

"Picholine" is a widespread variety of French olive. It is also known by other names: "Colliasse", "Fausse" (Lucques), "Piquette". It is from this variety that cocktails are made, in which, as an inevitable ingredient and to complete the decoration, the olive is present. Its fruits are medium in size, light green in color, slightly crunchy, delicate and slightly salty in taste, because they are usually sold canned and marinated. "Picholine" is also an ideal olive for decorating sandwiches and salads. In the production of olive oil, its fruits are picked shortly after they begin to darken. The taste of the oil is fruity and implicitly bitter.

The "Bosana" variety is believed to have originated in Spain. It is also found under various other names: "Palma", "Aligaresa", "Algherese", "Tonda di Sassari", "Sassarese", "Olia de Ozzu", "Olieddu", "Sivigliana piccola" and "Bosinca". There are extensive plantings on the island of Sardinia from it. "Bosana" are easily adaptable variety and can be grown in adverse conditions. Medium in size, they are mainly used for the extraction of olive oil. Their taste is described as: fruity, slightly bitter and sharp. They are picked early - at the beginning of ripening. Larger and more ripe fruits are eaten as a table olive - black in color.