The color of the olives denotes the time of the harvesting season during which they were picked. Harvesting runs from October to January. The greenest olives are harvested in October, the red or pink in November, the black in December, and the wrinkled black (not to be confused with olives that have shriveled due to curing in salt) in January.
Konservolia greek black olives – black olives
Konservolia is the most famous Greek variety of table olives. It makes up about 80% of table olive production in Greece. This variety is grown in central Greece and is known by the name of the areas producing it, such as Amfissa, Agrinion, Volos, Atalanti, Agios Konstantinos, Stylida, etc. The fruits are of medium to large size and they are round to oval. They are preserved in brine.
Nychati of Kalamata
Nychati of Kalamata is one of the most important Greek table olive varieties. It’s a black olive that is used for the preparation of slit olives preserved in brine and vinegar. It is produced in the south and south-western region of the Peloponnese and particularly in Messinia and Laconia as well as in central Greece
Olives of Chalkidiki
In the last few years, it has become a very important variety of table olives. It comes from the peninsula of Chalkidiki, close to Mount Athos. Its fruit is very large, which is why it’s known as “gaidourolia” (donkey olive).
greek olives – stuffed olives
Megaritiki
This is a dual-purpose variety, used for both oil production and eating. It is cultivated in the region of Attica. Its fruit is small and used mainly for the preparation of black dry-salted olives or of green cracked olives.
greek olives – olives
Kothreiki
This is a dual-purpose variety, produced in the Greek Mainland. Its fruit is similar in color and shape to the fruit of the konservolia variety.
