Shopping Note
We’ve found that pitted olives are inferior to unpitted ones. After pitting, the olives are returned to the brine for packing. The brine can penetrate the inside of the olive and turn it mushy as well as increase the absorption of salt. That saltier taste can mask subtler flavors. If you have the time, buy unpitted olives and pit them yourself.Recipes
Our Favorite Black Olives
Black olives can be meaty, juicy, briny, rich, snappy, salty, or funky—equally fit for making pungent tapenade as they are for snacking out of hand. But they don’t start out that way.
By Published May 29, 2019.
If you were to bite into a raw olive plucked right off the tree, you’d cringe at the profound bitterness that comes from a compound called oleuropein. Oleuropein exists in the fruit as a protective agent against predators. Only once olives are cured do they shed their bitterness (curing draws out the oleuropein and converts the olives’ natural sugars into lactic acid) and take on those aforementioned appealing olive-y qualities.
The particular curing agent—brine, dry salt, or lye—largely determines the flavor and texture of a cured olive; other factors include genetic makeup, climate, and degree of ripeness when harvested. (Ripeness, not variety, actually determines olive color, too; all olives start out green and darken as they ripen to shades ranging from dark purple to jet black.) Brine- and salt-cured (often misleadingly labeled “oil-cured”) olives are the most common, and in a well-stocked market you’ll find multiple varieties of both. Here are six of our favorites.
Kalamata
Grown in: Greece
Curing method: Brine
Profile: Meaty, bright, earthy, floral
Alfonso
Grown in: Peru
Curing method: Brine, then steeped in either wine or red wine vinegar
Profile: Plump, very soft, juicy, tangy, winey
Niçoise
Grown in: France
Curing method: Brine; often stored with herbs
Profile: Soft, sweet, earthy, slightly smoky; low flesh-to-pit ratio
Gaeta
Grown in: Italy
Curing method: Dry salt or brine, then dipped in oil
Profile: Bitter, buttery, fruity
Ligurian (Taggiasca)
Grown in: Italy
Curing method: Brine; often stored with herbs
Profile: Meaty, smoky, lightly salty
Nyon
Grown in: France
Curing method: Dry salt, then soaked in olive oil or brine to rehydrate
Profile: Leathery, earthy, salty; intense coffee-like bitterness
Black Olive Tapenade
After fine-tuning every element in this rich, lusty Provençal spread, we still hadn’t managed to tame its saltiness. Finally, we found inspiration across the border.Get the Recipe
Bruschetta with Black Olive Pesto, Ricotta and Basil
There’s a whole lot more to bruschetta than chopped tomatoes and basil. We wanted smart flavor combinations that didn’t require a bib.Get the Recipe
Sicilian Eggplant Relish (Caponata)
This sweet and sour eggplant relish from Sicily provides a great complement to meat or fish—but not if the vegetables are mushy and the flavors out of balance.Get the Recipe
Summer Pasta Puttanesca
A bumper crop of sweet, ripe tomatoes can brighten the pungent flavors of this Italian classic—or leave the noodles drowning in a waterlogged sauce.Get the Recipe
