Which olives taste the best

Lemon zest, oregano, garlic and coriander lend a complex, addictive flavor. And she can: They come in small, resealable bags that are perfect for on-the-go snacking.

Who knew there were so many kalamata varieties on shelves? We sampled over 20 brands before picking our winner. These tender olives are the ultimate greek salad topper.

I used to despise olives. There was a formative experience, early in my childhood, where I encountered some gnarly black olives in a salad from an Italian takeout joint.

That salad scarred me, and as a result, I spent most of my childhood and young adult life cursing the name of the olive. Black canned. Oil cured. All of them. But that changed. A particularly noble olive took my hand and showed me that I had been squandering my time on this planet. A classic Sicilian snack olive, Castelvetranos are bright green, round, mild in flavor and tender in texture, which makes them an approachable choice for the olive-averse you know who you are.

Mine were particularly salty — owing to that batch of brine, most likely — which made them the perfect complement to ice-cold beer and fried calamari. French, lucque olives are a buttery delight and not overtly salty like many of the other options on this list. They make a superior olive oil when pressed, although they are a difficult olive to extract from the tree. Of all the olives listed here, these are my personal favorite. They are deeply briny and have a pronounced earthy base note that the other olives lack.

I eat them on everything, but their tender flesh marries nicely with a simple tossed pasta. These petite, nutty and thoroughly unoffensive olives work well in nearly every application.

These extra-juicy olives are native to Peru and have delicate skins. They are plump and sweet up front and astringent on the finish — a truly unique flavor profile. Serve them alongside a robust red wine to complement the fruit-forward notes. Because they are dried first, their skins wrinkle and their sugars concentrate, resulting in a Super Olive.

News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Make no mistake -- I will eat these off my fingers, on a pizza and from a relish plate with gusto. But they're probably the worst of the bunch.