Bonnie: I’ve always been an olive fan, graduating from canned black (Yes, I admit that as I kid, I started with those!) to enjoy the more flavorful green, Niçoise, Kalamata and now the hottest new Castelvetrano olives. I also loved olives stuffed – especially with either bleu cheese or jalapeños.
The Castelvetrano olive or the Nocellara de Belice variety, widely available in both restaurants and supermarket olive bars, are now also available in a jar from Mezzetta. These hail from the eponymous town in Western Sicily and are easily recognizable by their naturally bright green color. Castelvetrano olives are sweet with a mild nutty and buttery flavor. They’re more mellow than other olives, so they can be used as better training wheels (for those who haven’t yet developed a taste for these fruits) than the canned black ones I started with. And yes, they are a fruit.
Some serving suggestions:
- Eat as is
- Toss into a martini
- Serve paired with Mozzarella di Bufala and Marcona almonds
- Toss into a citrus salad with parsley and slivers of red onion
- Add to braised meat, especially chicken or lamb
Bryan: The ubiquitous olive, much revered yet disliked at the same time, is a very divisive food item, to say the least. Many people would rather eat dirt than an olive, finding them too salty or bitter. In at least one way, though, most people have olives in almost every meal they eat out. Well, sort of. Almost anything that is getting cooked in a commercial kitchen (and in my house) will likely be exposed to some olive oil. It’s in the pan, or in a marinade or drizzled over greens for a salad. The olive is ever present in most kitchens, but 97 percent of the time it’s in liquid form.
The other 3 percent, you ask? At least for me, it’s Mezzetta olives. If I’m going to eat olives, Mezzetta is my choice, and apparently the rest of the country agrees, as it is the leading manufacturer of glass-packed olives in the United States. The family-owned company has been distributing wonderful olives and other specialty foods since 1935. Sourcing from only the freshest produce, Mezzetta carefully packs its olives in traditional glass jars, making for an amazingly appetizing package. That’s a lot of jars, by the way, as Mezzetta has more than a few olive choices! You wouldn’t find this many olive options in a Moroccan bazaar!
Today’s flavor, though, is Castelvetrano Olives. Why, you ask, out of so many olive offerings? Well firstly, they are Italy’s #1 snack olive (by a ratio of three to one)! Castelvetranos are rare, produced exclusively in Sicily and are easily recognizable. The Castelvetrano has a distinctive bright green color and meaty flesh and is thought to have one of the few perfect balances of salt within the olive world, all without a hint of bitterness. To many, this is the perfect green olive! Castelvetranos only recently arrived in this country, and Mezzetta is the first to offer them in jars, so they are the flavor of the day! Additionally, they are a truly addictive snack and a healthy alternative to most salted bar foods.
Castelvetranos not for you? How about any one of the following options? Spanish Colossal Queen Olives with Minced Pimento, Pitted Kalamata Olives, Marinated Cracked Deli Olives, Greek Kalamata Olives, Colossal Spiced Sicilian Olives, Mediterranean Niçoise Style Olives, Salad Olives, Fancy Colossal Green Olives, Garlic Queen Olives, Home Style Cured Pitted Olives, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Anchovy Stuffed Olives, Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives, Greek-style Feta Cheese Stuffed Olives, Habañero Cheese Stuffed Olives, Sharp Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Olives, Smoked Gouda Cheese Stuffed Olives, Italian Olive Antipasto, Jalapeño Stuffed Olives, Roasted Garlic Stuffed Olives, Applewood Smoked Olives, Pitted Bistro Blend Olives or maybe just an Olive Medley!
Mezzetta = olives. Enjoy.
Eric: The olive might be ubiquitous; it also is amazingly versatile. My guess is that most people (non-epicureans, that is) only really, associate olives with one variety — but there are oh so many types of the little Greek goodness. Olives truly fill the whole spectrum of taste; but the focus of this week is on sweet. Castelvetrano olives are just that — a sweet (somewhat salty) Sicilian-grown green, “meatier” olive that stands alone as the perfect mouth-popper.
Castelvetrano are not your run-of-the-mill olive. Rarely will you find them packaged outside of Italy, and they have not been readily available in any case. Take advantage of Mezzetta’s love affair with the olive, as they’re the first to offer the Castelvetrano, such a rarity, to the U.S. market.
Good day! I love olives! Yours are the best I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Thank for your expertise!