Unlike many varieties of table olives that offer tart, tangy and sometimes pungent flavor profiles, the Castelvetrano olive is known for its mild and buttery flavor. If you've accidentally bitten into a raw olive, you are no doubt familiar with the excruciatingly bitter panic that ensues.

This familiar, friendly, oval-shaped olive from Spain is brine-cured, with a crisp texture and a slightly smoky, almond-y flavor. Bella di Cerignola olives are humongous Italian olives that are harvested as both young green and ripe black olives. The best, most fastidious olive growers use a traditional, if time-consuming, method: They pick the olives by hand.Castelvetrano olives, like most green olives, are harvested young when they reach peak flavor and a green color. There’s something about the buttery, mild flavor of Castelvetranos that’s unlike any other type, like the ultra salty Kalamata or the briny pimento stuffed variety. There was a formative experience, early in my childhood, where I encountered some gnarly black olives in a salad from an Italian takeout joint.

Instead, these olives are processed in a bath of fresh water and lye solution for multiple times in a two-week period. Or rather, they transform from green to light brown, to a vibrant red and purple, to the deepest, darkest black. Though cost-efficient, this process doesn't make for optimal quality: since not all olives on a tree ripen simultaneously, many of the olives collected may be under or overripe, plus the rough handling can damage the delicate fruit. Discovering how to infuse our lives—ourselves, our work, our relationships, our homes, and our entertaining spaces—with simple beauty, more intention, and slow living principles. Lately, it’s been stealing the show at the bar, enhancing dirty martinis, and gracing charcuterie boards alongside dry-cured salami and Italian cheeses.

Their sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent flavors are singularly complex, making them an essential tool in any home cook's arsenal. Some producers begin their curing process in a water bath, and then move their olives into a seasoned brine.

A particularly noble olive took my hand and showed me that I had been squandering my time on this planet. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A PHOTO OR TUTORIAL FROM A DAILY SOMETHING, PLEASE ONLY SHARE ONE PHOTO, WHICH MUST BE CREDITED AND LINKED BACK TO A DAILY SOMETHING. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Plucked from their branches when very ripe, they slowly brine cured to coax out a mild, fruity flavor and a melt-in-your-mouth softness. Factor in marinating, seasoning, and stuffing the small fruits, and the result is an infinitely long olive menu—far too many to classify in a single article.Green olives are usually picked at the start of the harvest season, in September and October in the northern hemisphere. Our Whole Italian Castelvetrano Olives from Italy boast a distinct green hue and are famous for their crisp, meaty texture and mild, buttery finish.