Types of olives
It’s a common misconception that the colour of an olive denotes its variety. Colour simply signifies when an olive was picked from the tree. This variation offers a wide choice of tastes and textures.
Green olives
Picked at the optimal ripening stage, colours range from rich green to fair yellow.
Mixed olives
Picked mid-way through the lifecycle, these olives come in an array of different colours ranging from pink to maroon.
Black olives
Picked just as they reach their full ripening stage or just before, black olives vary slightly from black to deep violet depending on the variety and time of harvesting.
Olives also sometimes have their pit (stone) removed and are stuffed with a seemingly endless variety of ingredients, with some popular favourites including garlic, anchovies, pimento or red pepper, almonds and cheese.
Out of the many olive trees that can be found, the majority are used to obtain olive oil and only a few are suitable for the production of table olives. This suitability depends on a variety of characteristics including the size of olive pit compared to the outer layer, and how easy it is to detach from the flesh.
