green olives – pitted

Pitted green olives with herbs de Provence

Green olives from Olives Arnaud in Provence, pitted and marinated in brine with herbs de Provence. Firm in texture, mild in flavor, with a drained weight of 130 g per jar. No stuffed olives, no heavy oil marinade, no vinegar—just fruit, brine, and herbs.

Pitted green olives represent the mild side of the Olives Arnaud house, which has been doing nothing but refining olives in Provence since 1947. The pit is removed, the fruit remains whole, and 0.25% herbs de Provence are included in the jar. You reach into the bowl, eat, and nothing needs to be left on the edge of the plate.

Fruity, salty, fragrant with herbs

Upon opening, the resinous scent of that herbal blend found on every market stall in Provence rises up.

In the jar, you can see the small star-shaped cut on each fruit where the pit was pushed out, and it is precisely there that the herb flakes settle. The olives shimmer in shades from olive green to golden yellow, varying in brightness depending on their ripeness on the tree. The 130 g drained weight fills an aperitif bowl with nothing left over.

The olive itself remains firm, almost crisp, and tastes mild rather than bitter, with that buttery note characteristic of green fruits from the south. The brine adds a calm saltiness—1.5 g per 100 g—while sunflower oil forms a thin film over them, carrying the herbs. A sharp vinegar note does not interfere because there is no vinegar in the jar.

This is the difference from standard supermarket olives, which often swim in an acidic brine and lose their own flavor as a result. Here, the fruit remains the star, with the herbs serving as the accompaniment. Those who want to know exactly what creates that fragrance can also find the blend individually in our shop: Herbs de Provence with Label Rouge made of oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme.

For the apéro, in salads, or with pasta

Pitted olives save you from needing a small bowl for the pits on the table, which is why these green olives end up in the pan faster than any others.

They belong with a cool rosé or a pastis just as much as a few croquets with pistou and parmesan, and the evening begins as it does in the south of France. In the kitchen, the green olive likes chicken with lemon, roasted vegetables with fennel, and a pasta salad that is allowed to marinate for a few hours. Roughly chopped, it also finds its way into herb butter.

Once opened, the jar keeps well for a good two weeks in the refrigerator, provided the olives remain covered by the brine. If the oil looks firm and cloudy in the jar, it was simply cold; it will clear up again within half an hour at room temperature. Use a spoon, not your fingers, to keep the rest fresh.

Fontvieille 1947, where Marius Arnaud began

Olives Arnaud is a confiserie, as they call olive houses in Provence, and the company has focused on nothing else since 1947.

It started on the Grand'Rue in Fontvieille, just as Marius Arnaud began it, with his son André, then only 17 years old, by his side. "Confiseurs en Provence depuis 1947" is still written on every lid today. Philippe and Pierre now run the house in the third generation, and production takes place in Tarascon, between Arles and Avignon.

The green olives are placed in brine there, where they lose their bitterness while retaining their crunch, and are seasoned only afterwards. Our Arnaud olives have been in our fresh selection for over fifteen years and have remained a favorite. The black version with thyme is waiting alongside them, and those who wish to browse further will find the entire corner of Mediterranean antipasti.

Net weight 248 g – Drained weight 130 g

Contents 248 g – Drained weight 130 g