Black olives in brine

Its main use is for Olives in Brine: known under the name of Oliva di Gaeta, it comes from processing the Itrana variety, a black table olive of medium size, weighing 3-4 grams. The olives are harvested by hand once they are perfectly ripe, starting in mid-March, so they have to survive the whole winter clinging to the stalk in order to become "black Gaeta olives"; the olives must be processed within 12 hours of harvesting. After being sorted, they are processed according to traditional methods in salted water, without any preservative, acid or coloring. Gaeta olives in brine are world-famous: but Gaeta olives are not black, as is commonly believed; they are purple, with a vinous, bitterish flavor and acetic overtones. After maturing for usually 12 months, they are ready for marketing, if the Oliva di Gaeta has: - a very dark purple color and a rounded shape; - an intense, fruity and vegetable aroma; - an intense, vinous flavor with marked pleasantly bitterish notes; - a soft, yielding consistency.