Description
Olive Tree Varieties: Kalamata or Verdale
Olive Tree: Kalamata
The Kalamata olive is a large purple olive with a smooth, meaty texture named after the city of Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese, Greece.Often used as table olives, they are usually preserved in wine vinegar or olive oil. Kalamata olives in the European Union are protected with PDO status. Olives Trees of the same variety grown elsewhere are marketed as Kalamon olives
Description
Kalamata olives are grown in Kalamata in Messenia and also in nearby Laconia, both located on the Peloponnese peninsula. They are almond-shaped, plump, dark purple olives from a tree distinguished from the common olive by the size of its leaves, which grow to twice the size of other olive varieties.The trees are intolerant of cold and are susceptible to Verticillium wilt but are resistant to olive knot and to the olive fruit fly.
Kalamata olives, which cannot be harvested green, must be hand-picked in order to avoid bruising.
