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<pre>Really interesting Margaret, thanks.

However, you do not elaborate on the Nicoise olive. This is the Cailletier
variety which, as you say, is similar to the Taggiasca. It, too, is made
into both oil and table olives.

What is interesting is that they both produce rather mild and delicate
tasting oils - the Taggiasca with perhaps a little more kick than the
Cailletier which usually produces very sweet oils indeed.

Judy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Margaret Chidgey" <chidgey@optusnet.com.au>
To: <OliveOil@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 07 February 2001 00:30
Subject: Re: [OliveOil] Favoured table olives


> Alan, this was supposed to go into the next issue of The Olive Press, but
> there was no room:
>
> What are Ligurian Olives?
> These are the olives of the Italian Riviera, picked in the hills along the
> coast both east and west of Genoa. Picked late in the season, Ligurian
> olives are black in color, high in oil, with a delicate sweet flavor. In
> Liguria, the same olives are used for oil and for eating.
> The Taggiasca (plural, Taggiasche) is a small olive, the size of the nail
> on your little finger. It's a variety that was developed centuries ago by
> the Benedictine monks near the Ligurian town of Taggia, hence the name.
> They are a bit bigger and maybe a little meatier than the neighbouring
> French Nicoise, which are grown a hundred miles to the west. Ligurian
> olives are said to be a bit more buttery in flavour, and less acidic.
> The traditional cure in the region is to soak freshly picked olives for 40
> days in fresh water, which is changed daily. From there the olives are put
> into a brine solution of water and sea salt, scented with thyme, rosemary,
> and laurel bay leaves. You can also marinate them with a bit of orange
> peel, fennel, fresh garlic cloves, and olive oil.
> For a refreshing and unusual salad, combine shaved fennel, oregano and
> Ligurian olives with a splash of sherry vinegar.
>
> I also tasted the little Spanish Arbequina olives last year. They are
> delicious. One of my fellow tasters remarked that she would gladly swap
> them for kalamatas any day.
>
> And if anyone can tell me where to buy these in Sydney's north, I would be
> most grateful!
> Best wishes,
> Margaret
> At 10:27 AM 7/02/01 +1100, you wrote:
> >A "foodie" friend of mine speaks glowingly of the small Ligurian and
Nicoise
> >[spelling?] olives which he buys at his boutique deli to use in salads.
> >Presumably, those are not the names of the olive c.v.'s. Can anyone tell
me
> >the varieties used and what are the fruit's special attributes or is it
the
> >pickling process that makes them such favoured table olives?
> >
> >Alan Watt, Tanja Olives
> >
> >
> >
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> Margaret Chidgey
> Chidgey Consulting Pty Ltd
> Technical writing and editing for science and industry.
> Please note our new email address: chidgey@optusnet.com.au
>
>
>
> ************************************************** ***
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> http://www.sadoun.com/olive.hrm
> ************************************************** ***
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>
</pre>
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