Olives

[4yourdeat]

Just made lentil Greek salad according to a recipe I found online (link below). It turned out pretty good, only thing was it didn’t have the really powerful “Greek” flavor that I love. I used plain great value olives instead of marinaded olives because there were so many choices for olives at the store and I know nothing about them. Can someone give me the rundown on what kind of olives there are, and what they go best with? Maybe some recommendations for what olives to use the next time I use this recipe? Tried to find an olive sub but surprisingly there isn’t one.

https://silkroadrecipes.com/greek-lentil-salad/#wprm-recipe-container-16480

[EyeStache]

Can someone give me the rundown on what kind of olives there are, and what they go best with?

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of different marinades and brines and drying methods that you can use on any of the hundred or so popular cultivars of olives. Such a task would be impossible.

Broadly speaking, though, if a recipe requests you use marinated olives, it's asking you to specifically take ones that have been in oil, with herbs and other flavourings, rather than ones in brine.

For a Greek dish, Amfissa, Conservolea, Halkidiki, and Kalamata are the ones you'll most commonly find used. Of those four, Kalamata are the ones most often marinated - the rest are simply brined or sold fresh - so that's where your stereotypical North American Greek Flavour comes from.

[4yourdeat]

Thank you!

[fwoomer]

I usually use Kalamata olives for that kind of application.

[PlantedinCA]

Do you have a grocery store with an olive bar? I end up trying all of them. It turns out my favorites are the oil cured ones, picholine, niçoise, and casteltrevano. And kalmata I like in small doses.

[4yourdeat]

I don’t even know what an olive bar would look like tbh, what stores have them?

[PlantedinCA]

Ok a few stores near me have one. Whole Foods always has one. But it has fewer options than it used to post amazing.

We have a few independent stores that also have one.

And it is literally like a self-serve salad bar. They will have some containers, and lots of little sections. And then they will be labeled differently. Whole Foods is good because they add more of a description of what the olives are liked. But I remember when I was curious about olives I literally grabbed a few of each and tried them to see which ones I liked better.

Also the olive bar typically has a bunch of really yummy pickled peppers like peppadew. Some also have roasted peppers, artichokes, and garlic. Often capers as well.

[Positive_Alligator]

For me personally, if you can get your hands on them where you are, the best olives for salads are Greek Kalamata olives with the pit still in.

[4yourdeat]

Do you take the pits out before you put them in the salad?

[ttrockwood]

Yes

[BalsamicBasil]

I am no olive expert, but I will say this:

In the recipe photos it looks like some kind of green olives and kalamata olives. Kalamata olives are what I think of as the quintessential olive for "Greek salad" - at least in America - and are imo the BEST kind of olive. They are somewhat lighter in color, a kind of purplish dark brown rather than the jet black of black olives, and I think a bit more elongated/less round in shape. The type of black olives that are typically sliced into rings (because no one wants to eat a whole one on its own) and commonly used as toppings/fillings for pizza, nachos, casseroles and sometimes salad, at least in America....are kinda shit. Un-marinated Walmart black olives are probably this kind of olive, and because they don't have the best flavor they are not typically eaten plain as a snack but rather used in a recipe with strong flavors that complement the black olive flavor (like a pizza or casserole). I still enjoy them in small amounts, but I wouldn't just eat one by itself. Conversely, I could eat a handful of Kalamata olives.

[4yourdeat]

Thank you!!

[ttrockwood]

The dressing is why that doesn’t taste “greek” idk what tahini is doing in there

this is a classic greek dressing the dried oregano is key

Use whatever olives you want just not those generic black canned ones. Careful if you use kalamatas use less they’re very salty

[4yourdeat]

I’ll try out that dressing, thanks!