I’m wild about olives, but one of my faves is the
big, meaty one from Greece called Kalamata.
Increasingly popular in the US, these flavor-bombs can perk up even the
most benign tasting dishes. Kalamatas
are so special that they are protected by Greek law…only olives grown near the
village of Kalamata in southern Greece can be given this name.
To ensure quality, Greece has several additional
laws related to Kalamata olives. For
example, they cannot be picked green like so many other olives. Instead, they must be picked at their exact
peak of ripeness. They also must be
hand-harvested (versus machine) to avoid bruising.
While mostly used as an eating olive because
of their incredible flavor, oil can also be made from Kalamatas. As an eating olive, they are split before they are brined or
pickled which helps further flavor the olive on its interior, as well as
exterior. Many are packed in olive oil after
being brined, further adding to the olive’s complexity.
If you’re one of the lucky 12 persons who has secured
a spot on the private yacht charter to the Greek Islands this September, I’ve
already seen the chef’s nightly dinner menu and Kalamatas appear in everything
from appetizers to salads, and from main dishes to their accompanying
vegetables. If you’re coming to our home for the Bastille
Day party weekend in July (those coming going on the harvest tour to France in
September), you can bet that there will be some Kalamatas in the tampenade that I’m making.
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