Loaded Baked Potato
A large baked potato mashed inside its skin with butter and kaşar cheese, then topped with corn, olives, cornichons, mayonnaise and ketchup—an Ortaköy favorite.
The Turkish pantry
Cured Black Olives
Prepared black table olives, sold with pits or pitted, for eating and cooking.
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These are processed black table olives, not freshly harvested raw olives or olive oil. Curing method and variety affect texture, saltiness and flavor. The name does not identify one regional variety.
Types & forms
Whole cured olives
May be sold in brine or dry-cured. Check for pits before adding to a dish.
Pitted and sliced olives
Ready-pitted olives are convenient for toppings, but check the package and remove any remaining pit fragments.
What to look for when buying
- Choose ready-to-eat black table olives in the form the recipe requests.
- Read the ingredient list and compare salt levels; dry-cured and brined products have different textures.
Prepare & cook
- Remove pits before chopping or slicing for toppings such as kumpir.
- Drain brined olives when the recipe asks for a drained amount.
- Season the dish after considering the olives’ saltiness. Use ready-to-eat cured olives for these preparations.
Store it well
- Follow the producer’s storage instructions, including after opening.
- Keep the product in its prescribed packing medium and use clean utensils.
Substitutions depend on the dish
Other cured table olives
May suit a dish when the flavor and firmness fit, but green and black olives are not identical in taste.
Olive oil
Provides fat and aroma rather than the texture of whole olives; it does not replace a measured amount of table olives.
Nutrition
Nutrition and salt vary with the product and curing method; refer to its label.
At the Turkish table
Black table olives appear at breakfast and in salads, breads and toppings in Turkish home cooking.
Cook with Cured Black Olives