Friday, August 17, 2012

What kind of olives?

Spain is the largest producer of olives in the world and it's followed by Italy and Greece respectively. Olives are also cultivated in Turkey, France, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Portugal, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Argentina, Chile, Peru, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Some countries have common kinds and others have unique kinds.Most olive kinds are good for both eating and making olive oil
Although Kalamata might be the best known olives for consumers in the United States, there are many more varieties of olives in this world. Kalamata olives are named for a region in southern Greece and has a protected status meaning that no other olive can be called Kalamata unless they are grown in the region. Another olive variety from Greece is called Amfissa which also has a protected status for the region where the olive groove said to contain more then 1,200,000 olive trees.
From Spain there is Cornicabra which comprises about 13% of Spain's olive production and Picual in Southern Spain which is about 50% of olive production in Spain and 20% of the world production. Also from Spain, Mazanillo ( which is grown around the world including United States), Arbequina, and Hojiblanca varieties. From the Middle East, there is Maalot, Chemali, Nabali, Souri, and Malissi. All these varieties are know for producing high quality olive oils. From Italy, there are Frantoio and Leccion varieties which are grown in Tuscany.
In the United States, five varieties major varieties are grown which are: Manzanillo, Sevillano (also called Sicilian), Mission, Ascolano, and Barouni. The Mission variety is grown exclusively in California and it originated from the first olive trees planted by the Spanish monks. See the blog "How old is Olives?"
Sofia's Selection olives were selected to be Mission Black Olives and Sicilian Green Olives. Visit our home page at www.sofiaselection.com  or our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/sofiasselection to find more information

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