Often relegated to appetizer platters, rustic breakfasts, or used as a cocktail garnish, olives hold so much more potential than what is generally realized. With over 1,000 varieties worldwide, the characteristics can span the spectrum, from subtle and buttery to bitter and bold.
Rich in antioxidants and nutrients, just like extra virgin olive oil, olives are an ideal snack. Yet, very often, these miraculous fruits, too often trivialized by careless aperitifs and cheesy movie lines, remain largely misunderstood. Starting with how they are processed, try biting into a “raw” olive and you’ll learn firsthand that it’s inedible, to the subtle flavor and texture differences among varieties, and the many ways they can be enjoyed.
Let’s start precisely with the debittering process that transforms olives from inedible to delicious: there is the so-called Sevillian method, which involves immersing the olives in a solution of water and caustic soda for a few days, before rinsing them and placing them in the preservation brine; the Castelvetrano method, used in Sicily, which extends the process up to three months; the Californian method, used for black olives, which involves treatment with ferrous salts; and finally, the natural method, which consists of keeping the olives in a brine of water and salt for many months, up to 18, depending on the size and characteristics of the olives, constantly monitoring the fermentation, until the fruit becomes “spiccagnolo” (meaning the flesh easily detaches from the pit), while remaining crunchy and retaining a pleasant bitterness. This last method is ideal not only for preserving the nutritional properties but also for maintaining the unique characteristics of each variety.
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Ancient and contemporary Puglia: the expertise of Oilivis
“We work with the natural method on Ogliarola Garganica olives, which we harvest from centuries-old trees each October, when their color shifts but still leans towards green,” explains Antonio Mitrione, third generation of the Apulian family cultivating olive trees in the province of Foggia. “This variety is quite bitter and spicy. They are perfect among appetizers to accompany the intense flavors of aged cheeses and fatty cured meats, but also to enhance baked sea bream or octopus ragù.”
Since 2021, they have specialized in table olives and pâtés under the brand Oilivis. “We started out curious about the dual-purpose varieties of Gargano and the recovery of traditional processing methods,” Mitrione says.
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The Bella di Capitanata, the local name for the Grossa di Spagna variety, is impressive and particularly crunchy, and traditionally served crushed. “It’s perfect for a refined aperitif. It also leaves a very clean palate and pairs well with beer, wine, or cocktails, while it’s less suitable for cooking.”
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For cocktails, Mitrione suggests the Picholine, a French variety widely grown in the region, due to its flavorful brine with subtle pinkish hues. The Leccino (which, being resistant to Xylella, is gaining ground in Puglia) produces olives versatile enough for almost any occasion, especially in the pitted version. A true highlight for Oilivis is the Leccino Sal Secco: olives debittered by keeping them under salt for over 100 days, turned daily. The result is wrinkled olives, similar to the Lucanian Ferrandina variety, although those are oven-baked, that pay homage to tradition, yet offer much longer preservation and an elegant flavor.
Between fine dining and mixology in the Marche with Abou Zaki
In the Marche region, chef Richard Abou Zaki of Retroscena, collaborates with Agorà, a company based in Ascoli Piceno led by agronomist and oenologist Manuel Pasquali. They’re focused not only on vines but also on the Ascolana Tenera olive cultivated on 10 hectares of their own land. This local variety, crisp and fleshy yet delicate, is traditionally the star of the exquisite stuffed and fried olives, served in city venues (from the Agorà restaurant to the pizzeria-grill and cocktail bar Clorofilla) and sold to private clients and high-end catering. It is also used for extra virgin olive oil and pitted green olives, processed both naturally and with lye, enriched by the balsamic note of wild fennel. Abou Zaki uses various versions of the olive on the pizzas at Controluce.
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Meanwhile, at Retroscena, they also appear in the glass, in a fresh Smart Negroni reinterpreted with gin infused with anise and orange, red vermouth, bitters, and Ascolana Tenera. The chef has also experimented with the intense bitterness and crunch of the unripe olive, grilled over embers and served alongside cannolicchi in a marine and mineral dish; while the new menu features a Ragù of Ascolana Tenera olive, marrow chlorophyll, pickled lemons, and marjoram. But perhaps the most striking demonstration of how limitless the gastronomic use of olives can be is his Riso Adriatico: from olives in brine, he extracts a base for an ice-cold broth (to prevent oxidation) in which the rice grains cook, finished with extra virgin olive oil and served with amberjack, wild fennel, and orange oil, a dish that, for the chef of Romanian origins, “concentrates contemporary Marche in a single bite, encapsulating the olive’s minerality and the mild savoriness of its slightly unripe flavor.”
In the heart of Lazio: the identity of Gaeta olives
In Lazio, Cosmo Di Russo carries forward the long tradition of the Itrana black olives (more precisely “bloodied,” harvested just ripe in early spring, when their color is violet and their texture optimal). The fruit of rigorous natural processing and slow fermentation in water and salt, it is essential for puttanesca sauce, Neapolitan-style escarole, tiella with octopus, and much more, thanks to its lively softness and winey note. But, taking advantage of the slow ripening of this variety and reviving a local homemade tradition, Di Russo also focuses heavily on the “white” olive, picked in autumn when its color ranges from straw yellow to green and the size is larger (and fermented in water alone before going into brine), perfect for aperitifs and starters.
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Among the latest novelties, also born from the rediscovery of a local habit aimed at preventing waste of black drupes that naturally begin to shrivel on the tree, and from shepherds’ practice of carrying them in their pockets as snacks, are the olive grinze: dehydrated for about 40 days with Trapani salt, they are eaten as an appetizer or snack. “In this way, you can fully savor the taste of the olives, which somehow changes with fermentation,” Di Russo explains. But if you really want to be surprised by a “simple” olive, try his pitted black olives transformed into small sweet-savory-bitter bites by the Itrana workshop Agrodolce, run by the Fiortini family: freed from the brine, lightly dried in the oven, then candied in a water and sugar bath for 15 days, the olives are finally coated in 70% single-origin dark chocolate, becoming a sort of bonbon with a unique flavor.
Sweet and savory surprises: when the olive becomes dessert
The pairing of olive and chocolate, successfully experimented with by the Frantoio di Sant’Agata d’Oneglia, is no exception. From the prized Taggiasca olives of the Ligurian hills, small and delicate, yet flavorful, they produce not only elegant oils and olives preserved in a brine of water, salt, thyme, bay leaf, and rosemary, or in extra virgin olive oil, but also unusual caramelized olives with brown sugar and crispy dehydrated herb-infused olives. These are perfect to enrich salads and first courses, and they add an unexpected twist even to “Taggiasca” chocolate bars, available in dark, milk, or white chocolate versions. A taste to believe in.
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