Olives 101Pick an olive to explore

Nocellara del Belice

Nocellara Del Belice olives are grown in and around Sicily, Italy. We source ours from small family farms, who we've worked with for decades.

These olives are picked between late September and October while they are young, ripe, and vibrant in color. After harvest, they are washed in lye for several hours to lose their bitter taste.

Then, they are rinsed repeatedly to remove the lye. This process to cure the olives, called Castelvetrano-style, was developed in the town of the same name. Today, people often call the olives themselves Castelvetranos, but originally that referred to the curing process only.

Noceralla Olive

COLOR

Straw green


FLAVOR & TEXTURE

Mild and buttery flavor with a firm, meaty texture


USAGE

Snacking, salads, pizza, charcuterie

Profile

Boasting a distinct green hue and a meaty, buttery flesh, these olives are ideal for elevating any number of recipes, or for snacking straight from the jar.

Halkidiki

Halkidiki olives are large, green Greek olives with an oval shape that are most often harvested in October, before they're fully mature.

They grow exclusively in the Halkidiki region, near Mount Athos, in Northern Greece. We source our Halkidiki olives from small family farms, who we have worked with for decades.

Halkidiki Olive

COLOR

Vibrant green hue


FLAVOR & TEXTURE

Mild and nutty flavor


USAGE

Snacking, salads, pizza, charcuterie

Profile

Mild and nutty, these versatile olives are ideally suited for stuffing with Bleu cheese, garlic cloves or jalapeños.

Kalamata

Like with many olives, Kalamatas are named after their place of origin - Kalamata, Greece. Unlike other producers looking for cheaper alternatives in Turkey and Egypt, Mezzetta has sourced succulently rich, tender and meaty olives from the same small family farms in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece for the past 30 years.

Kalamata olives distinguish themselves from other varieties with their almond shape and dark aubergine color. Once harvested, Kalamatas are naturally cured in a salt brine. Once cured, they are stored in a brine containing red wine vinegar to achieve optimal flavor.

Kalamata Olive

COLOR

Dark aubergine color


FLAVOR & TEXTURE

Bright, fruity flavor with notes of wine, with meaty texture


USAGE

Cooking (e.g., baked into bread or pizza); snacking, charcuterie

Profile

Kalamata olives are ideal for cooking.

Queen “Gordal”

The Queen "Gordal" olive ('the fat one' in Spanish) gets its name from its extraordinary size relative to other olives.

Hailing from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, where we've worked with small family farms for over 30 years, these olives are first treated with lye before naturally curing in a salt brine.

Gordal Olive
Map of Spain with Southern Spain highlighted

COLOR

Straw green


FLAVOR & TEXTURE

Briny flavor with notes of almond and a meaty texture


USAGE

Martinis, snacking, salads, charcuterie

Profile

Our Queen 'Gordal' olives are stuffed with bright red Spanish Pimientos and perfect for martinis.

Manzanilla

Manzanilla olives are imported directly from the Seville area in Southern Spain. They are the most widely grown variety in the world and are harvested between September and November each year.

Manzanilla Olive
A map of Spain with Southern Spain highlighted

COLOR

Straw green


FLAVOR & TEXTURE

Mild and buttery flavor with a firm, meaty texture


USAGE

Cocktails, charcuterie, salads, snacking

Profile

The mild, fruity taste of the Manzanilla olive makes them a great vehicle for other flavors, the most popular being pimiento.

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Explore recipes with this olive

Easy Mediterranean Fish Tacos with Castelvetrano Salsa Verde

Easy Mediterranean Fish Tacos with Castelvetrano Salsa Verde

Cal-Italian Chopped Salad

Cal-Italian Chopped Salad

The Sparkling Aperontini

The Sparkling Aperontini

Garlic Stuffed Olive Knots

Garlic Stuffed Olive Knots

Mezzetta® Bloody Mary

Mezzetta® Bloody Mary

Olive and Feta Stuffed Party Meatballs

Olive and Feta Stuffed Party Meatballs

Orzo Pasta Salad

Orzo Pasta Salad

Mediterranean Grilled Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Mediterranean Grilled Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Sheet Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Olives

Sheet Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Olives

Tuscan Farmhouse Chicken

Tuscan Farmhouse Chicken

The Perfect Dirty Martini

The Perfect Dirty Martini

Antipasti Sheet Pan Pizza

Antipasti Sheet Pan Pizza

I've eaten a lot of olives in my 69 years, but never have I had a better tasting olive or been addicted to them like I am with your Castlevetrano olives."

Julia P.

Howell, NJ

Every jar has a journey

It starts in the farms

We travel all across the globe in search of the finest possible ingredients, developing long-term relationships with local farmers. The result? The best possible products for our customers.

Next step - perfecting the product

Once our ingredients enter our factory, the real work begins. In both our test kitchens and production lines, we work tirelessly to ensure Mezzetta products are of the highest possible quality.

The seal of approval

The name Mezzetta on the jar is a promise that you're taking home the best ingredients on the planet. We check our products for quality before, during and after they've left the factory floor.

At last, a seat at the table

Ultimately, the key ingredient to a joy-filled meal is family & friends. Our products should be enjoyed the same way we've always made them - with love.