Firstly, the Nicoise is a type of preparation, and the actual olive itself is the same as the Ligurian. Unlike Nicoise, the Nyon is an authentic French olive. Growers produce Gemlik olives predominantly for use as a table olive, but oils are available too. The Castelvetrano is medium-large in size, and typically comes pitted in a salty brine. Olives are a type of fruit that grows on olive trees and are very healthy for you. These medium-sized green olives are growing throughout Portugal, but mainly in the Northern regions. Add this to their bright shade of green, and they have an interesting and appealing look about them. This type of used for both oil and dressing and is grown mainly in provinces of Seville and Huelva, Spain. First of all, the olives are either mixed with salt or covered in a salt solution. This curing method involves soaking fully-submerged olives in water over an extended period. As a lover of olives, it’s also hard to pick just one! Notably, Leccino olives have a look of their own, and they are a kind of hazelnut brown. It may surprise you to learn that the only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness; unripe olives are green, whereas fully ripe olives are black. It has a wrinkled appearance, mild flavor, and is often packed with rosemary and other herbs. They have a slightly sweet, smoky, and bitter—but tasty—flavor, so they work best as a table olive. The fruit is then rinsed and soaked in a strong salt brine for three months, causing fermentation. It is large in size, buttery in flavor, and crisp in texture. Since the Alfonso has a robust flavor, it complements various dishes well, and it also looks great on a cheese and wine platter. For instance, if you have had store-bought green olives before, then you’ve almost certainly sampled a Manzanilla. Producers usually cure Amfissa olives in a brine made with sea salt and citric acid. Gastronomically, the Lucques provides a mild nutty taste which merges well with the crunchy exterior and buttery texture inside. There are many types of olives, but you may come across just a few in your local supermarket or gourmet grocer. The Gaeta is also a ripe olive; it is dry-salt cured and then rubbed with oil. Cordovil olives are very deep and fruity yet slightly bitter and spicy in taste. More than anything else, they are renowned for their great-tasting premium olive oil. This method of curing is used by some of the larger producers. Green olives must be soaked in a lye solution before brining, whereas ripe black olives can proceed straight to brining. Growers pick the fruit when it is at a mature stage, giving the Nicoise a dark brown appearance. There are quite a few large green olives, so I can’t be certain. Another Spanish olive is the Gordal, which means "fat one," a fitting name for this plump, rounded green olive. Notably, they are one of the few types of olives to have protected designation of origin (PDO) status. They are first submerged in a bath of lye for a few hours to remove their bitterness. The vast majority of Picual olives go toward olive oil production. These French olives are then cured in brine and packed alongside various herbs and oil. I can agree with that! The olives are small and green with a firm texture, and growers produce them for sale both as whole fruit and oil. Depending on which method is used, curing olives can take from a few days to a few months. This gives them their characteristic tartness. Their light and mild taste make them ideal for a wine and cheese platter. There are many types of olives, but you may come across just a few in your local supermarket or gourmet grocer. They are the medium to large fruit of the Conservolea tree, one of the oldest olive trees in the world. And one black Italian olive that is popular at tastings is the Lugano; it is usually very salty and sometimes packed with olive leaves. Lye curing has the shortest fermentation time while brining takes the longest. Another interesting variety is the Beldi, a small and fruity olive that hails from Morocco. These French olives are difficult to process into oil, so they usually take their place as a table olive. Unlike the other Portuguese olive cultivars, we can usually (but not always) find this variety in whole-fruit form. That description could be many things! However, they are also available in their whole fruit form and come packed in brine. Depending on the environment, the climate in which they grow, and the maturity of the fruit, Amfissa can taste anything from bitter to sweet and grassy to fruity. Gaeta is a very popular Italian black olive from the small city of Gaeta on Italy’s West Coast. One reason why they are so commonplace is the Spanish Manzanilla’s high fruit yield, which enables large-scale production. This article will examine 26 of the most popular olives from around the world. Although they often sell as light green olives, they come in all shapes and sizes, and they are available in green and black form.