Know Your Olives
What’s the difference between a Castelvetrano and a Kalamata? Plenty! Use this guide to five of the most popular olives—with flavors ranging from mild to hoo-boy!—and you’ll never again be stymied at the supermarket olive bar.
Photography by Peter Ardito
From left to right
Castelvetrano
These meaty, tender, buttery, bright-green Italian olives are easy to snack on and mild enough to add to most recipes. They’re also the largest of all.
Manzanilla
The classic green Spanish olives are often stuffed with pimientos or garlic, making them a tasty addition to that happy hour Martini.
Niçoise
They’re tiny but pack a salty punch. These deep-brown French olives are a must on a classic niçoise salad, and are great in seafood dishes or as a snack.
Kalamata
It’s not a Greek salad without these meaty and tart black olives. Finely chopped, they’re also an easy way to wake up a basic marinara sauce.
Oil-cured (Moroccan)
Curing gives these black, wrinkly, easy-to-pit olives a concentrated flavor. They work beautifully in salads and tagines.
