Olive de Nice

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.

The olives are preserved in brine for 3 months, and a further 3 months for making the paste. They are most commonly eaten on their own, as an appetiser, paired with aged blue cheese and red wine, or used in Salade Nicoise with tuna.