Buying wholesale olives can be a daunting task especially if you are new to purchasing olives. With the recent concern over counterfeit olives, buyers are not educating themselves on how to purchase and recognize high-quality olives. Whilst the table olive has not had a lot of scepticism surrounding the quality, there are some factors to keep in mind when buying olives to ensure you are purchasing and eating the best olives. 

Here are some common quality factors to consider when purchasing olives.

Smell

The first thing to consider when purchasing olives is the smell. Olives that have been cured properly have a clean smell. An off-fermentation is noticeable on the nose and off-odour is unacceptable when buying high-quality table olives.

Mould

You should definitely look for mould when purchasing olives. Generally, people tend to avoid foods that have mould as there are some harmful toxins in them that could lead to food poisoning. Olives are susceptible to mycotoxins and mould, although they are not a big issue in olives since they are in coffee, grains and chocolate. It is therefore best to look out for mould olives as the taste will be largely affected. Purchase olives that have pits. Removing pits during the processing of olives bruises them and makes it easier for mould to grow.

Taste

While taste is a subjective matter when it comes to foods, high-quality olives from wholesale food suppliers can be recognized by their taste. A well-fermented olive should have a balance between the natural flavour of the olive fruit, the added vinegar and salt and the natural lactic acid. Olives that are overly acidic are harsh on taste buds and this means that the acidity of the olives hasn’t been created from the curing process but has been added after.

Consider the texture

Olives should have a degree of firmness in flesh. The skin of the fruit shouldn’t be too tough and the flesh should easily detach from the pit. Olives should never be visibly bruised or mushy. If you are shopping for olives in the olive bar then it is important to look for olives that are dressed in brine. This helps them retain their flavour and moisture.

Appearance

It is not always the looks of the fruit that counts – except when it comes to buying olives. Table olives shouldn’t only taste good but they should look as good as possible. The taste and looks of the olive should be mutually exclusive. Check the skin of the fruits if you can and avoid batches of olives that have patchy or discoloured skin. You should choose olives that have shiny and smooth skins without lacerations or bruises.

The supplier

When buying wholesale olives, they can be too many to inspect them all. This means that you need to buy from a supplier you can trust. Some suppliers give you high-quality olive samples but when it comes to the actual batch, you find something of substandard quality. You should therefore do your due diligence when choosing a supplier.