What are your favourite olives?

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I like all kind of olives! Anyway, for me, the most tasty olives are the "Arbequina" Olives and the black olives.

The arbequina olive is a very small olive that we have here in Catalonia. We use it so extensive for making a varietal olive oil and as appetizer.

You can find more information about arbequina olives in Wikipedia:
Arbequina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

About Black olives I think you have the same information as me. You can find them worldwide.

-Ireneu-
 
Hi Ireneu,
My best memories are of Costa Brava. I was in St Feliu de Guixols and Tossa Del Mar, and a local took me to some amazing restaurants. I have to say, it was the best food I've ever had, and I've lived in Paris and other great food locations.
 
Hehehe! I'm really very happy with your comment Merstar. Not in vain we have had the most important restaurants in world: El Bulli and El Celler de Can Roca. Anyway, there's not necessary to go to the famous restaurants for eating very good. Here are a lot of little or unknown restaurants that they serve a good food too, but they are hidden for the tourist.

Tip: if you want to eat good and cheap in Catalonia/ Spain, you have to ask the natives and run away from the downtown. The good ones normally aren't in the touristic zones.

-Ireneu-
 
Hehehe! I'm really very happy with your comment Merstar. Not in vain we have had the most important restaurants in world: El Bulli and El Celler de Can Roca. Anyway, there's not necessary to go to the famous restaurants for eating very good. Here are a lot of little or unknown restaurants that they serve a good food too, but they are hidden for the tourist.

Tip: if you want to eat good and cheap in Catalonia/ Spain, you have to ask the natives and run away from the downtown. The good ones normally aren't in the touristic zones.

-Ireneu-

Absolutely - That's why I was so glad to have a native bring me to all the best local restaurants, many of them were family-owned and only known by the locals. None of them were for the tourists. The food was superb - so fresh and delicious beyond compare. The local wine was also superb. I wish I could remember the names of the restaurants, but it was so long ago.

On another note: A few months ago, I tried a new extra virgin olive oil - It's from Spain and is called Nunez de Prado. It's excellent!

By the way, besides the food being fantastic, I thought the Costa Brava was soooo beautiful - with the ocean and mountains and countryside... The people were also very, very nice - warm and friendly.
 
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Absolutely - That's why I was so glad to have a native bring me to all the best local restaurants, many of them were family-owned and only known by the locals. None of them were for the tourists. The food was superb - so fresh and delicious beyond compare. The local wine was also superb. I wish I could remember the names of the restaurants, but it was so long ago.

In Catalonia we have a lot of regional wines. I suppose that you have tasted the Empordà wines. Don't you?

On another note: A few months ago, I tried a new extra virgin olive oil - It's from Spain and is called Nunez de Prado. It's excellent!

Did you bought that oil in US? I don't know that oil brand. Anyway, I don't use that kind of bottled oil, because we buy our olive oil directly from farmers.

In Tarragona, the farmers cultivate a long extension of olive trees and every village have his own agricultural cooperative. The products that they sell are from the better quality and with a very competitive prizes. The oil that we use at home is mixed from Picual and Hojiblanca olives and it comes from first pressed. That oil is extra virgin too (ultra high quality) , but not everybody likes because it's so strong and not recommended for fried-food. We usually use it for seasoning salads or vegetables, even for make our "Catalan national food", a bread toast with garlic, oil and tomato. Have you tried it, Merstar?;)


By the way, besides the food being fantastic, I thought the Costa Brava was soooo beautiful - with the ocean and mountains and countryside... The people were also very, very nice - warm and friendly.

Hehehe... I like very much the Costa Brava and the Rosas Gulf countryside. It's a pity that our landscape can be more loved by the tourists than by the natives. :huh:

-Ireneu-
 
Ireneu,

You're lucky you can buy your oil directly from your farmers! Here's an article about Nunez de Prado:
The Núñez de Prado Obession with Perfection - Olive Oil Times

I'm not sure what kind of wine I had, but one of the red wines I had was produced by the owners of the restaurant in St. Feliu de Guixols. They also had their own farm, so a lot of the food I ordered, such as the chicken, was from their farm.

"Catalan national food", a bread toast with garlic, oil and tomato. Have you tried it, Merstar?;)"

Yes, I have! It was soooo delicious!
 
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I've read the article, Merstar. It's very interesting all the magazine, including one article dedicated to Siurana PDO (the kind of oil that I use) and the problems that they will have with the global warming in the future.

Concerning to the wine that you tasted in St. Feliu de Guixols, I think it could become to the Empordà PDO. but I'm not sure because St Feliu is in the border of the region. I will investigate!

-Ireneu-
 
I'm with the "I like 'em all" gang. But my favorites are ripe, black olives from a can, preferable medium size. That is strange to me as I usually like everything, but know what I like best, and it's usually more expensive.:LOL:

But I grew up with the canned olives and just loved them at first bite. What can I say?:yum:

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I really like the pretty Verdi Castrelvetrano green olives from Costco. Very mild and buttery, not too salty.
 
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I've read the article, Merstar. It's very interesting all the magazine, including one article dedicated to Siurana PDO (the kind of oil that I use) and the problems that they will have with the global warming in the future.

Concerning to the wine that you tasted in St. Feliu de Guixols, I think it could become to the Empordà PDO. but I'm not sure because St Feliu is in the border of the region. I will investigate!

Yes, let me know what you find out!

By the way, I also want to mention that the best espresso I ever had was in the Costa Brava - I used to order Cafe Cortado. Also, I had the best desserts there- I don't remember most of them, but I do remember the Crema Catalana. My host was stuffing me with so much great food that I must have gained 15 lbs!
 
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Going off topic here a bit but still about olives. Many years ago we had the chance to pick ripe olives from the tree of a friends olive trees in Napa Valley, CA.
Being not too bright, but optimistic, we decided to 'cure' our own olives. The details all elude me now but we followed some other idjits directions for doing it at home. All stages were followed religiously and took several weeks/months.

For other reasons that elude me one of the final stages was leaving the olives in a burlap sack in the sun. (Don't ask, I don't remember why!)

The sunny spot we chose was on the concrete walkway going from the porch to the sidewalk.
A few hours later I glanced out and saw a dog lifting his leg on the sack full of olives!
Well, so much for THAT experiment!

Back on topic. I love ALL olives! Any kind. Except the ones peed on by a dog.
 
Going off topic here a bit but still about olives. Many years ago we had the chance to pick ripe olives from the tree of a friends olive trees in Napa Valley, CA.
Being not too bright, but optimistic, we decided to 'cure' our own olives. The details all elude me now but we followed some other idjits directions for doing it at home. All stages were followed religiously and took several weeks/months.

For other reasons that elude me one of the final stages was leaving the olives in a burlap sack in the sun. (Don't ask, I don't remember why!)

The sunny spot we chose was on the concrete walkway going from the porch to the sidewalk.
A few hours later I glanced out and saw a dog lifting his leg on the sack full of olives!
Well, so much for THAT experiment!

Back on topic. I love ALL olives! Any kind. Except the ones peed on by a dog.

:LOL: That's a great story.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
in sardinia, the pee'd upon olives would be a delicacy of some sort.

just look at casu marzu.

you'd be happy to eat those olives after that, lol.
 
in sardinia, the pee'd upon olives would be a delicacy of some sort.

just look at casu marzu.

you'd be happy to eat those olives after that, lol.

:LOL: Casu marzu has been forbidden by Geneva Convention...

My true queens of the olive kingdom are the taggiasche from Liguria, followed by the giant green olives from Cerignola, Puglia.
But I, too, like them all!
 

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