The famous olive ''almada'' of Chalkidiki! With its full, juicy fruit! That's why, this olive is also known as "chondroelia"! Most of all, however, you will find it with the name "almada" due to the fact that it is minimally processed. The only human involvement is the addition of salt. "Almades" from the greek word ''alas'' which means salt!
They are collected when they are mature enough, after they have taken the characteristic brown-red color while they are still on the tree.Then we add salt, so we can have this thin skin. Then we store the olives in a barrel with wine and we keep them there till they have this fruity taste of wine. The combination of flavors and aromas makes them really unique!
An extra advantage is that we can keep these olives fresh for months, We just add a little bit of olive oil if we feel their flesh hard.
HISTORY "FROM GOLD" BEHIND THE PRODUCT
These olives are cultivated exclusively in Chalkidiki, mainly in the South part. In reality, however, the whole area is a landscape whose relationship with the olive tree is inseparable, inextricable and intertwined with economic and social tradition
From the Hellenistic times there is documented evidence of olive cultivation. It took place in a continuous way and did not stop even in Roman and early Christian times. Excavations such as stone hat-shaped olive mills confirm this. The connection of the inhabitants of Chalkidiki with olive cultivation hides a history of many hundreds of years. It is striking that people initially crushed olives either with large stones or with their feet. The wooden lever that activates the stone cylinders appeared later, in the Bronze Age. In Olynthos of the 4th century, where every year the olive festival is revived since the 1980s, we find the first sample of the stone manual mill. This is the best evidence of traditional cultivation and similar to that of Pompeii!
During the Middle Ages, however, and throughout the stone years of Ottoman rule, Chalkidiki did not stop cultivating its large, lush olives. These olive groves are characterized by diversity. In other words, they are consisted not only of olive trees, but also of other crops such as cereals. In this way the soil was rejuvenated and gaved fruits with extremely riched ingredients. It is a fact that calcium, iron and omega-3 fatty acids are contained in large percentages. On the other hand, total fats are much lower compared to other olive varieties.
Include the green olive of Halkidiki in your nutrition plan and enjoy the rich taste and the slightly lemony feeling! It goes extremely well with white meats and fish. Paire your meal with a good variety of white wine and enjoy!