Green Gordal olives with sweet cranberries from Andalusia
Capirete’s Gordal olives with cranberries are large, pitted table olives from Andalusia, stuffed with caramelized cranberries. Savory meets fruity-sweet, firm to the bite and surprisingly mild. An olive for those who like things a little sweeter.
Gordal olives with cranberries are large green table olives from Capirete in the Andalusian south of Spain, pitted and filled with caramelized cranberries. The Gordal is one of the largest olive varieties of all; its name comes from "El Gordo," the fat one. If you are looking for stuffed olives beyond peppers and chili, you will find a sweet-tart counterpart here.
Savory meets fruity-sweet
Firm in texture and mild in fruit flesh, the Gordal provides a calm counterpart to the sweet, slightly tart cranberry that sits caramelized in its center.
Where there used to be a pit in other olives, here you find a little spoonful of berry—a good 9% of the filling—sweetly preserved with a delicate acidity. The result is a interplay of salty, sweet, and fruity that you would hardly expect from an olive. One bite is enough, and you have salt and sugar, fruit and olive flesh in a single mouthful.
The Gordal remains the calm foundation, large and juicy, while the cranberry provides the cheerful note. Those who have only known salty olives will be a little surprised here, and those who love the sweet-salty combination anyway have found their new favorite snack.
Sweet and tart on the cheese board
The Gordal olives with cranberries are appetizer olives with a sweet streak and go well anywhere that cheese and fruit come together.
They are a treat on a cheese board, especially alongside spicy Manchego, aged Comté, or a creamy blue cheese to which the berry offers a sweet contrast. They are just as delightful with game and poultry as they are with a glass of sherry in the evening. Coarsely chopped over a winter salad with goat cheese and walnuts, they find a second stage.
During the Christmas season, when everything calls for cranberries anyway, they are a little insider tip for a festive antipasti platter. A small bowl of them, and your guests are guaranteed to ask what that cheerful thing is tucked inside the olives.
Gordal from the heart of Andalusia
The Gordal grows in the Andalusian provinces of Málaga, Córdoba, and Seville, where these heart-shaped giant olives capture the southern sun.
Their oil content is low, but their flesh is lush, which is why the Gordal has long been prized as a table olive and rarely finds its way to the press. Large and heart-shaped, it sits in the hand as if made for being stuffed. It is precisely this size that makes it the ideal stage for all kinds of savory and sweet fillings, whether fiery chili or caramelized berry. Savory and sweet go well together, as the Páez family in Jerez has been proving for decades.
Capirete is the family-run business José Páez Lobato from Jerez de la Frontera, at home in the world of sherry and vinegar since 1933 and specialized in Vinagre de Jerez for over 60 years. The Sherry Vinegar is also produced in the same house. If you prefer the fiery version, try the Gordal olives with chili, and you can find all other olives and vinegars from Capirete in the manufacturer's shop.
Net weight 300g – Drained weight 140g