Villa Jerada Picholine Olives in Brine

Growing up, most of the olives I encountered came from a can. Soft and squishy, they rarely, if ever, had any taste that resembled an olive.

They came from the shelf in a grocery store, mostly populated, if I remember correctly, with a bunch of other olives in cans and glass jars, mostly nondescript, along with maraschino cherries. Olives were relegated to making drinks.

Then, a few years back—25 plus or so—I was introduced to great olives, imported in giant 50-gallon drums from Morocco. Before they were bottled, we were able to steal bowls full to munch on while we packed boxes.

The olives were crisp, crunchy, and most importantly, full of flavor! This was the slap-on-the-forehead moment of “this is what an olive should be!”

Of course, we had great olives while in France, Italy, Greece, and Spain for many years. Supply and reliability have been the biggest issues, and once packed and shipped, the result is often less than appealing.

With these olives, you get an olive.

The first olive you bite into exposes the brine that has permeated the flesh, releasing the lemon, garlic, and the laurel leaf (perhaps the most interesting flavor of the three), which is closely followed by the Picholine olive body.

A far cry from the so-called olive of yesteryear! Full and filled with a nice bite of complexity, rewarded with the pit to roll around in your mouth as you clean the remaining bits off.

In many ways, the pit to play with is the reward of a job well done. Satisfaction of flavor to sensory buds is followed with a mouth toy to play with—effectively a diet tool to slow the volume of olives eaten.

These olives are great to have on hand while you toil on the day's chores, to surprise your guests while camping, or when you expect a dinner party of 50. And to include in the next chicken dish you make!

These olives have a great bite. Crisp, with good flesh. Great to have on hand in your essential pantry!