Where can I buy Gloria’s Harvest Olives?

Do you heat-treat or pasteurize the olives?

No, Gloria’s Harvest Olives in a Bag are never heat-treated or pasteurized. This keeps intact all the natural nutrients that are good for you, like the healthy fatty acids and phenols.

How do you preserve olives without preservatives or pasteurization?

We use a sophisticated 8-layer bag which protects the olives from light and provides 100% oxygen barrier. That creates an aseptic environment where harmful bacteria cannot reproduce. We also use a traditional, secret way to ferment the olives properly so they can hold the taste, aroma, and freshness for longer.

How do I better preserve olives if I don’t consume a whole bag?

The best way is to refrigerate them. Put the olives and their juice in a bowl or tupperware and store them in your refrigerator. They hold up much better than leaving them on the counter-top. If you want to store them for longer, dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of salt in 1 cup of water and place the olives inside. Before consuming, rinse them with water to reduce the salty taste, drain and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

When I refrigerate the olives, the olive oil looks like butter. Is this natural?

Absolutely! It’s called olive oil coagulation or winterization. It’s a natural process where the healthy fatty acids in the olive oil solidify from the low temperature. Simply let them thaw on your counter for a few minutes and they will be as good as ever! In fact, some people enjoy the texture and taste of the olives out of the refrigerator.

How do you make the olives look so shiny and delicious?

There are many reasons why Gloria’s Harvest olives look (and are) so delicious, but two are the main ones. First is the superior quality of olives—we hand pick every single one of them to make sure that they are the proper size and meet our high quality standards. Second is the olive juice—we use a mixture of minimal brine and extra virgin olive oil, which coats and protects the olives, giving them a brilliant look and a delightful taste.

Why are the olives salty?

The traditional method of curing olives involves storing them in water and salt. This is where the salty taste comes from.

Where do the olives come from?

All of our olives come from Greece. Some varieties are more prevalent in certain locations whereas others can be found in more than one areas. For example, Kalamata olives are most common in the Peloponnese, a large peninsula in Southern Greece. Our Pepper Stuffed Green olives on the other hand come from the Macedonian region, which is in Northern Greece. The peppers stuffed in them come mainly from Florina, an area in the North-Western Greece.

Are olives fruit or vegetables?

Olives are considered to be fruit harvested from the olive tree. In fact, they are ranked as fruit because they are the “edible part of a plant (olive tree) developed from a flower.” However, in the culinary world they are often used in such a way that people confuse olives to be vegetables.