This past weekend, Allison and I went for a road trip to the Southern part of the Peloponnese in Greece. Our destination was Kalamata. If you think that the word Kalamata sounds familiar, it might be because you've sampled one of their famous olives. Kalamata Olives are not a type of olive, but are in fact an olive grown in Kalamata. Since I'm an olive fanatic I was very excited about this trip.
The rumour I had heard about the olives was that we wouldn't find any in the city of Kalamata. They say that the locals don't really eat the olives and that most of them are exported. I have to be honest, there aren't that many places selling these olives in the city, I only came across one olive specialty store (and I bought a kilo of olives). However, many of the restaurants seem to use this local delicacy both in the olive form and in the oil.
My first impression of these local delicacies was fantastic. I never really thought about the importance of fresh olives and fresh olive oil, but getting them at the source really seemed to imrpove the flavour. The Kalamata olive is traditionally very sour, with a slight bitter kick at the end. It's often soaked in brine (not oil) and is very plump and juicy.
All over this town I was greeted with a taste of this awesome delecacy. You never really think about olives as being so versitile, until you visit a few restaurants in Kalamata.
As an added bonus, I learned that the honey in Kalamata is also very well known in Greece. I was lucky enough to sample some on my first morning. It's so rich and sweet. I wonder if the olive trees, that are just about everywhere, have something to do with the fine honey?
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