Small Cretan Green Olives

Crete is famous for these tiny olives, which are also cultivated in Messinia and Zakynthos. Despite their size, they are packed with oil and are the source of some of the world's best olive oil. When green, small quantities are harvested as table olives. When black and ripe (December, January, and sometimes February) they are almost exclusively harvested for the production of olive oil. Most of the table olives are consumed in Greece, never reaching western markets, and the olive oil, famous the world over, is consumed in Greece and exported.