The Cook’s Kitchen

I recently had the opportunity to try gourmet olives by King Cuisine. This company has created a wide range of products from olives to hummus, tapenades, and salads to name a few. Everything is packaged in the Netherlands and has a rather long shelf-life for fresh olives - approximately 6 weeks.

Upon my first tasting of the Marinated Gourmet Olives with Feta, I was able to taste the faintest hint of the herbs in the marinade. At first I though the vinegar was a bit too strong, but when I took my next taste and ensured I had piece of feta with it, the flavors blended well. I think the Marinated Gourmet Olives with Feta can stand alone as part of an antipasto platter. The combination of the black and green olives with the soft feta cheese blended well together with the saltiness from the marinade.

When I tasted the Tuscany Gourmet Olives, I expected to taste something very different than I did with the olives that were marinated with feta. That was not the case, and with this product, it seemed that the vinegar was more overpowering since the cheese was not there to offset it. Tuscany Gourmet Olives seem more suited to be tossed in with a Greek salad or a simple green salad.

Another product that was delivered to me was a fresh salad pesto dispenser, Basilicum dressing. The dispenser is similar to the olive oil misters, but rather than a misting spray, it comes out in a stream. This is an interesting product, in that it tastes like a watered down pesto. The idea behind it seems to be to use it as a salad dressing, but I found it too strong for that purpose. If added to another dish that you were preparing, such as a soup that needed another hit of flavor, this concentrated basil dressing might be just the solution.

The products are being marketed to chain grocery stores in the United States, so be on the look out for them so you can taste them for yourself.