Best Provençal Olives Types
Olive de Nice are olive products of the Cailletier variety coming from the French region of Alpes-Maritimes. The product refers to small, meaty olives and olive paste. The olives have a firm texture, a smell reminiscent of dried fruit and a slightly bitter taste.
The flesh is delicate and must come away easily from the pits while their color is yellow-green to brown and dark blue to black. The olive paste, on the other hand, has a smooth, fine texture with a smell compared to that of olive oil, and has a wine color, neither green nor too dark.
Olives cassées de la Vallée des Baux de Provence are broken, green olives from the Salonenque or Béruguette varieties that have a low shelf life, and come flavored with fennel. The olives have been produced in the French region of Bouches-du-Rhône since the 18th century.
Since they are an early product and are the first table olives to reach the consumers in October and early November, they are excitedly awaited each year. They are broken mechanically and left to lose their bitterness, washed with water, put in a brine solution and seasoned with fennel seeds, flowers and stalks.
Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux de Provence are dark olives of the Grossane variety grown exclusively in the French region of Bouches-du-Rhône. They have a tasty, chunky flesh and are plump and short, with a wide base.
If they get pressed in order to produce olive oil, the oil possesses aromas reminiscent of fresh grapefruit and tomatoes. They reach the consumers' table in December, which is why they hold the nickname Christmas olives, providing an additional source of income for the farmers during the winter season.
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