Kalamata Olive Tree
The most popular eating olive is the Kalamata olive, a Greek tree cultivar that is egg-shaped, larger than many other olives, being about one inch long. The taste of the Kalamata olive is spicy and salty having been cured about a year in salt water (brine), where the olives age into delicious delicatessen specimens perfect for eating. No other liquid oil has the ability to transform the taste of a prepared dish as olive oil, a cooking phenomenon that has been known for centuries. The best olive oil for cooking in "extra virgin" olive oil or pure olive oil, because the "extra virgin" olive oil is pressed (squeezed) at the exact moment that the olive crop ripens. Kalamata Olives are green to begin with and then they darken, starting with the end of the olive and moving back toward the stem. In ancient Greece the Olympic athletes were massaged with olive oil and the Jews anointed their kings with olive oil. The olive branch is an ancient symbol for peace and tranquility.