Olive paste in tubes

One of my backpacking staples used to be black olive paste. It’s good on crackers and a great pasta ingredient*, lightweight, and it has a good shelf life–so it’s perfect for backpacking.

But some years ago the two main brands (Amore and Gia) both apparently stopped making it. I have no idea why; I just can’t find it anymore. Anywhere.

Does anyone know a) what happened (supply problems? insufficient demand? food safety issues?), and/or b) if there’s any current source for olive paste in tubes? (I’ve done a lot of Googling so I don’t hold out much hope for the latter, but hey, it’s worth a try.)

Thanks in advance,
Tom

*My basic dinner strategy on solo trips was to bring capellini (boils quickly, so it doesn’t get as gummy at the lower boiling temperatures you have at high elevation), a little olive oil, and tubes of tomato, garlic, anchovy, and olive paste. Insta-puttanesca, sort of, and very yummy.

Oh, great question. I’d love to find some as well. I’ve also googled quite a bit. All I’ve seen has been jarred paste, which doesn’t last as long. It would be great to have some of that quick umami in place of anchovies for my vegetarian son.

Yeah…the jars also don’t work for backpacking (weight/fragility considerations).

Umami paste is vegetarian, and it’s not bad. But I like to get that full hit of olive.

Haven’t seen those in ages…
It seems silly but you could just buy the stuff in a jar and then transfer it to one of these handy gizmos


Once you roll up the end and clip it creates an airtight seal

Those things always seemed to me like a containment failure waiting to happen. But it might be worth a try. Thanks.

It does sound like it would be worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll stop by rei next time I’m in the area.

Thanks for the link. It sounds delicious, but not quite vegetarian. There are anchovies listed in the ingredients. Maybe someone will make something similar either vegan or vegetarian.

Oops, didn’t read the ingredients carefully enough. Damn.

They have all different sizes, and are really sturdy- once unclipped they are easy to clean too. My dad has been backpacking for long trips for decades and always uses these (anything from peanut butter and his favorite jam to the spicy sauce concoction he makes himself)