Black olives of the Vallée des Baux-de-Provence

Olives noires de la vallée des Baux-de-Provence

What it is

Only the Grossane qualifies, a large, short olive with a flat base, picked once at least 70% of a lot is black or turning and delivered to the confiseur within 48 hours. Two cures are allowed: pricked and dusted with sea salt, then kept between 2 and 4 °C for at most 12 months, or brine. They are sold whole, neither cracked, slashed nor flavoured; the specification says the plain cure is what keeps the fruit's own character, its truffle, cep, sourdough and red-wine notes.

In the kitchen

The salt-pricked olives are a chilled product: keep them in the fridge. Producers sell them fresh in winter, still pinkish to orange-brown and fresh-tasting; over the following months they darken and take on nut and red-wine notes. Serve them whole with bread, or stone them into a lamb daube at the end.

Goes with

Lamb Thyme Rosemary Garlic Orange Olive oil Anchovy Banon

Same species

Agrumato lemon oil Aix-en-Provence olive oil Corsican olive oil (Oliu di Corsica) Haute-Provence olive oil Languedoc olive oil Nice olive oil

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