Kalamata olive

Olive Kalamata

What it is

The cultivar is Kalamon, and the name on the label was contested for years between the protected appellation around Kalamata and growers of the same variety elsewhere, until a 2024 Greek supreme court ruling let both use it. The fruit is picked fully ripe and finished in red wine vinegar, which is where the wine note comes from rather than from the olive itself.

In the kitchen

Rinse the vinegar off before they go into a cooked dish or they will sour the whole pan; keep it for salads, where it does the dressing's work. Slit each one and press the stone out with the flat of a knife.

Goes with

Feta Oregano Olive oil Red wine vinegar Lemon Cucumber Lamb Tomato

Same species

Agrumato lemon oil Olive Cracked olive of the Vallée des Baux Castelvetrano olive Bella di Cerignola olive Gaeta olive

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