Olives & Olive Oil

[Who2]

I bought some Kalamata Olive Oil the other day, turned out I had bought the olives instead of the oil.
Being somewhat an self proclaimed olive expert started me thinking, what are the World's best olives.
Surprisingly the Greeks didn't get a look in the Olive Oil section.
Remembering my old pal Mem, our local Clerkenwell Electrical suppliers for years, I see he now has a web site..**

Mem used to have a drinking club, 10 shops down with a sauna, he sold it for a million.
His son Mo, set him up once with a fake escapee trying to get Mem to cut his cuffs off, for TV. 'some funny guys in Clerkenwell..
** http://www.mroliveoil.com

[BENNU]

Wadi Egyptian Kalamata olives taste exactly like - Kalamata olives!

[Who2]

Can you say that again ?........

[Brian Yare]

Can you say that again ?........

that again!

[LivinginLuxor]

"The crop of Greece's Halkidiki olives now being picked could be down by as much as 80% this year because of poor weather, and the Grocer reports that some suppliers could raise their prices by 50%. "Some olive suppliers will struggle to meet existing contracts, with the impact felt as soon as the next one or two months," Sam Higgins, an olive distributor, told the trade magazine. It comes on top of news earlier in the year that Spain's olive harvest had been hit by a drought in 2012, and that prices would have to rise."

From a "Shock Horror" story in today's Guardian about imminent price rises for 'luxury foods'!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... olate-wine

[Who2]

I tried Wadi pitted Kalamata Olives as suggested but found due to the lack of stone and the over-salted brine there is no firmness and substance to the flesh.
Having washed off their brine I have steeped them in virgin oil and chilled them in the fridge, but are still far to salty as compared to the original Kalamata Olives....

[BENNU]

I have only seen them with stones.