Table Olives

Olives have been a staple part of a Mediterranean diet for more than five thousand years. Delicious in their own right, olives also find their way into countless recipes. The health benefits of olives are also well known – they are high in antioxidants and free of cholesterol - ensuring that they will continue to be an important part of our diet.

Table olives can be eaten as green (slightly under-ripe) or as black (ripe) fruit. Both green and black are the same olive, picked at different stages of maturity. Unlike many other types of fruit, olives cannot be eaten directly from the tree.

Olives are picked traditionally by hand to avoid bruising the fruit although modern machinery is able to speed up this process. The first step is to remove the bitterness. At Hunter Olives we believe this should be done by natural and traditional methods rather than the industrial techniques that are common overseas.  

Our fruit is slowly cured in a salt-brine solution over several months. We do not use any caustic soda in the de-bittering process. The traditional method takes longer but we believe it produces a much better flavour and texture and helps retain the goodness that can be lost during faster processing.

Once de-bittered we will either package the fruit in a brine solution with a little olive oil or we may process it further in a range of marinades.

In the Hunter Valley harvesting typically takes place from late February to early June. Timing depends on the variety and whether the fruit is to be processed green or black. As the fruit ripens it slowly changes colour from a bright green through a yellow-green, through shades of pink and violet eventually to a rich black or purple colour.  

In 2009 we have also produced some salt dried olives, again using traditional techniques.

Fruit Varieties

While there are more than 800 varieties of olives available around the world only about 20 fruit varieties have been found to be suitable for climate of the Hunter Valley. Fruit tends to be grown either for olive oil or table consumption. Our growers provide the following table varieties:

• Manzanillo. Originally from Spain Manzanillo means “little apple”, a reflection of the plump round shape of this variety. In Spain it is mainly used for olive oil but in Australia it is best used as a table fruit. It is excellent eaten either black or green and takes up the flavours of marinades exceptionally well.  
• Kalamata. Widely known and liked this variety comes from Kalamata in central Greece. It is traditionally prepared and served as a black olive.
• Sevillano. From Spain this fruit is renowned for its large oval size and firm, crisp texture and is best enjoyed as a green salad olive.  

• California Queen. An olive that was originally from Egypt, this variety was subject to some selective breeding at University of California to isolate a superior strand. These make excellent round, green table olives.
• Verdale. A French variety used as either a green or black olive and in some locations, also used to make olive oil.
• Volos. Another Greek variety, but better green than black
• Hardy’s Mammoth. The history of this variety is somewhat unclear, but it seems to have been developed in South Australia from a mixture of European stock. A good, medium sized green or black variety.
• Coratina. This is a fairly new variety to the Hunter – originally from Italy – and shows great promise as either a green or black variety
• Jumbos. Sometimes known as Jumbo Kalamata (they are not a true Kalamata) this is  a very big olive, best eaten when green or turning and is ideal for stuffing with blue cheese  
• Frantoio. This classic Tuscan variety is in high demand for the production of olive oil but is also delicious when prepared for eating.
• Azapa. Closely related to Sevillano, this large green olive comes from Chile.
• Leccino. Another Tuscan variety that suits the Hunter very well for both olive oil and table olives.
• Picholine. A medium sized olive from southern France, usually prepared and served green to turning colour.

While generally used for olive oil we process a small amount of Correggiola fruit as a “Ligurian” style olive. The fruit is small with a nutty flavour that is enhanced by marinating in herbs and spices.