his enormous olive is sold both green and black. The green variety has a mild and vegetal flavor. These gigantic green olives are harvested in Cerignola, in Italy's Puglia region, the heel of the boot. They are crisp and fantastically buttery. Their hefty size renders them easily stuffable—they play especially well with garlic, cheese, capers, and anchovies. When black, the flesh is softer and sweeter, and the pit is much easier to remove.

Castelvetrano olives are Italy's most ubiquitous snack olive. Bright green, they're often referred to as dolce (sweet), and come from Castelvetrano, Sicily, from the olive variety nocerella del belice. They have a Kermit-green hue, meaty, buttery flesh, and a mild flavor. Consider serving them with sheep's milk cheese and a crisp white wine.

plump, purplish black Greek variety that’s especially popular in U.S. markets and a good choice in most recipes calling for black olives. The king of Greek table olives, beloved and popular Kalamatas are deep purple, with tight, snappy, shiny skin, and a pretty almond shape. They're typically preserved in red wine vinegar, red wine, and/or olive oil for a distinctive rich, smoky, fruity flavor.

hese wrinkled black olives have a meaty, chewy texture and are
often very salty.

Sometimes called Sicilian Colossals, these oversized olives
have a dense, somewhat sour or tart flesh.

mall brownish black olive that can be hard to pit, but the flavor, which is reminiscent of nuts, is worth the effort. These small, purplish-brown, wrinkled olives from Puglia have soft, tender flesh and a tart, citrusy taste. Gaetas can be either dry-cured (shrivelly, chewy) or brine-cured (plump, juicy).

From the Calabrian region of Italy, these small green olives are sharp and full-flavored with a firm, crunchy texture.

Nocellara del Belice is an olive cultivar from the Valle del Belice area of south-western Sicily. It is a dual-purpose olive, grown both for oil and for the table. It is used to make "Valle del Belìce" extra-virgin olive oil, which is pressed from a minimum of 70% Nocellara del Belice olives.