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COPYRIGHT 2004 Australian Consumers' Association
IN A NUTSHELL
* Where they're from, what the different types are, how they're made edible and even how they're stuffed ...
* CHOICE Home Testers rated prepacked green olives stuffed with pimento. While they didn't like any of them much, two brands may be worth keeping in your cupboard for emergencies--see Table 2, page 27.
* One serve of olives (about seven of them) can contribute more than 20% of your maximum recommended daily salt intake. You might want to look out for the less salty brands.
Not so long ago an olive was little more than what you needed to put the finishing touches to a martini. Now most delis and the deli counters of the big supermarkets have impressive displays of loose olives, and on the supermarket shelves we found over 40 different types and brands in jars or tins (see Table 1, right).
TYPES AND VARIETIES
There are basically three types of olive: green, black and Greek-style (most familiar as Kalamata olives). They're picked at different stages of ripeness and processed differently (see You may not have wanted to know this, page 26), so it's not surprising they have such different flavours and textures. Most olives on sale here are imported from Spain.
Plain green and stuffed green olives are the most popular, but Kalamata olives are growing in popularity.
OUT OF A JAR OR FROM THE DELI COUNTER?
Olives in jars last for ages on the pantry shelf and they're handy to have for cooking or a pre-dinner nibble. However, our Home Testers didn't rate any of the packaged stuffed olives they tasted for us very highly (see Table 2, page 27). Are the loose olives at your deli or on supermarket deli counters any better?
Most of the deli olives are also imported--they just come out of a bigger tin than the ones on the supermarket shelves. Olives come in various grades: the deli ones can be better quality than the ones in jars, and they're often marinated in oil with herbs and spices. Another difference is that prepackaged olives have been sterilised by heat, which can adversely affect the flavour and texture.
Some of the deli olives are grown here and are therefore likely to be fresher (see Aussie olives, page 26). It's also likely to be a matter of personal taste--you may find different marinades or stuffings that you like that aren't available in jars.
On average, though, you pay more for olives from the deli counters. After draining off the brine, olives in jars or tins average about $14 per kilogram. Olives we bought from the deli counters at supermarkets across Sydney averaged about $21 per kilo.
PUT TO THE (TASTE) TEST
We asked 120 CHOICE Home Testers to taste all the brands of green olives stuffed with pimento that we could find in supermarkets nationally--six in all (see Table 2, far right).
Our tasters liked fairly sweet-tasting olives with a fleshy or firm texture; they weren't keen on ones...
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