Castelvetrano Olives

Now that I'm off carbs again I'm looking for a midday snack. I love a good Castelvetrano olive but it's been a while since I had a good one from a deli (used to get 'em at Caputo's). Anyone know of a source on the north side or near north suburbs?

I got some from Bari recently that were good. I also get them from Tony's on Lincoln near Foster.

Thanks. I'll stop on my way home.

The Tony's on Lincoln near Foster has been a somewhat erratic supplier of Castelvetrano olives in my experience partly because location has not been consistent.

HarvesTime Foods (2632 W Lawrence) consistently has some store-packaged boxes in the cooler shelves opposite the end of produce and beginning of deli.

ekreider wrote:The Tony's on Lincoln near Foster has been a somewhat erratic supplier of Castelvetrano olives in my experience partly because location has not been consistent.

HarvesTime Foods (2632 W Lawrence) consistently has some store-packaged boxes in the cooler shelves opposite the end of produce and beginning of deli.

Thanks!

These are our favorite olives hands down - so buttery and complex. We get them from the olive bar at Whole Foods. Our location (Kingsbury) also stocks them in jars, which are pretty good (not quite as fantastic as the fresh ones).

I feel like most of the Marianos have them in their olive bars.

bnowell724 wrote:I feel like most of the Marianos have them in their olive bars.

Marianos and Whole Foods have them on their olive bars. It's not an issue of finding them at all, just finding them fairly priced. They were something like $3.99/lb at Caputos and the olive bar pricing is 2-3X as much. Fine for a snack portion but if I'm buying 3lbs or so I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

HarvesTime pricing was $6.99 per pound in smallish boxes when I was there this afternoon. Sometimes but not today they have Castelvetrano as one of the olives in big jars at the deli counter.

spinynorman99 wrote:

bnowell724 wrote:I feel like most of the Marianos have them in their olive bars.

Marianos and Whole Foods have them on their olive bars. It's not an issue of finding them at all, just finding them fairly priced. They were something like $3.99/lb at Caputos and the olive bar pricing is 2-3X as much. Fine for a snack portion but if I'm buying 3lbs or so I feel like I'm getting ripped off.

That makes sense

Is there a functional difference between the olives out in the bars and those in cans or jars? Aren't the bar olives just dumped canned olives (like industrially sized cans)?

there is surely a science answer. but i have seen ones in the bar, at least at whole foods, come from vacuum sealed pouches and i would guess they aren't as old as the jarred ones. i notice that castelvetrano in particular, since they are so lightly brined, have a much shorter shelf life than other olives. so i think the bar ones being potentially fresher than the jars matters for this variety??

I have always found these olives at Tony's on Lincoln located in the deli, at the end near the fried chicken and sushi. There are probably four types in large jars that while you may have to get a number to access (its not self service), the counter person usually drains almost all of the juice and thus you do not pay extra for liquid, just for the olives. $5.99 per pound is the price for the Castelvetrano ones.

gastro gnome wrote:Is there a functional difference between the olives out in the bars and those in cans or jars? Aren't the bar olives just dumped canned olives (like industrially sized cans)?

The deli counter olives usually come in big plastic tubs.

OK, some have reported that olive bar olives may come in vacuum sealed bags or in plastic tubs rather than cans. I'm still not sure if there is a functional difference to the way that they are processed/stored.

Are the canned/jarred versions processed at a canning temperature? Does this change the quality of the olives? Sometimes I think canned olives have a bit more of a metallic taste, but I could be imagining it. Maybe better quality olives get packed/processed differently.

Anyway, I rarely see castelvetrano olives available outside of the by-the-pound olive bars. Maybe there is a reason. I'm still curious.

G Wiv wrote:

Olive1.jpg

I had an appetizer with warmed Castelvetranos with lemon zest and the flavor really popped. Will definitely try that dish, looks great.

spinynorman99 wrote:I had an appetizer with warmed Castelvetranos with lemon zest and the flavor really popped. Will definitely try that dish, looks great.

Was terrific, though I liked it more than my bride. I bought the Castelvetrano olives and feta at Tony's on Lincoln $5.99/lb for the Castelvetrano olives, don't remember cost of the feta. Recipe came from -----> this short video

They have the jarred variety of Whole Foods on Belmont/Lincoln/Ashland.

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G Wiv wrote:Recipe came from -----> this short video

I wrote down the recipe from watching the video, might make it a little easier to make. Next time out I will go a little lighter on the olive oil and more garlic/crushed red.
=-
Marinated Olives and Feta

15 - 20 Castelvetrano olives, remove pits
3 Garlic cloves, smash
Lemon peel, half a lemon, wide, no pith
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
Heat in pot until bubbling
Pour over hand torn feta cheese
Let sit in bowl at room temp for 30-minutes
Tear bread, bake at 400 for 5 - 8 minutes

Serve bread on side, eat, repeat

Tony's Lincoln Ave moved Castelvetrano olives* to the regular deli case, next to the feta. Same price, $5.99, same mild buttery rich flavor.

Castelvetrano olives, count me a fan!

*for the sharp eyed, yes I realize Tony's Castelvetrano olives are labeled Greek. Yes, I realize Castelvetrano olives are Sicilian. I do not know if this is a missprint, an olive packed in the "style of" or . . . I inquired as to provenance, the deli clerk had zero idea what I was talking about. She was helpful, friendly, packed a mean olive (added brine after weighing) and could only offer they, meaning Castelvetrano olives, were one of her favorites.

Tony's Fresh Market
5233 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Good price - hopefully they taste as good

The castelvetrano olives in Tony's deli case have been labeled as Italian for the last month or so in both the deli case itself and the printed labels from the scales. I don't know whether somebody pointed it out to them or somebody woke up.

ekreider wrote:The castelvetrano olives in Tony's deli case have been labeled as Italian for the last month or so in both the deli case itself and the printed labels from the scales. I don't know whether somebody pointed it out to them or somebody woke up.

I'm confused. Are they now back to being labeled as castelvetrano? How were they labeled previously?

=R=

They were always labeled castelvetrano. However, as Gwiv noted above, the label in the deli case had them as Greek.

ekreider wrote:They were always labeled castelvetrano. However, as Gwiv noted above, the label in the deli case had them as Greek.

Ah, ok. Sorry for not reading further up.

=R=