Most of the time, jars of olive spread languish in my fridge for months, forgotten and ignored. Whole black kalamata olives, however, are my superstars. They go into salads, potatoes, pasta. But last week, when I cracked open two jars of Meditalia olive tapenade, it occurred to me that these spreads just might have the same versatility as the whole olives I love so much.

I put a spoonful of the Black Olive Tapenade on top of my greens-and-feta salad and tossed it in. It was just the kick my salad needed. Encouraged, I stirred some into a drab-tasting bottled marinara — instant puttanesca! I even put a spoonful of tapenade on my microwaved potato — it’s way healthier than butter and a lot more delicious. What’s especially nice about the Meditalia tapenades is they taste like olives — they aren’t too salty, herby, or vinegary.

The one detail you won’t taste in these spreads is that they are being marketed by Peaceworks, an organization that promotes peace around the world. The olives are grown in Palestinian villages. The jars are made in Egypt. The spread is produced in Israel. Five percent of the profit on each jar goes to efforts to promote world peace. The tapenades are $4.25 at Draeger’s and other specialty markets.