Agogio Olives are medium-sized olives grown in Umbria, Italy. They are used for both black table olives and for making oil from. For table olives, they are harvested when black. The olives don’t yield a lot of oil, but the oil is sweet and very highly regarded, especially locally.
Italian Olives
Ascolane Olives
Ascolane Olives are grown on the olive tree called the “Ascolana Tenera”, which is native to the Marche area of Italy. The olives are very large, with an oil content of 16 to 18%. When pressed for oil, they produce a light oil. They are also used for green or black table olives. When used…
Bella di Cerignola Olives
Bella di Cerignola are large olives that come as both black olives and green olives. Both are meaty with lots of flesh. They have elongated pits.The green ones are the most common. They have a mild, and somewhat sweet taste. The firm flesh clings to the pit. The black ones are have softer flesh that…
Biancolilla Olives
Biancolilla are medium-sized , oval-shaped olives grown largely in southwestern Sicily that have an oil content of 15 to 18% and yield a good quality, fragrant oil. The tree needs another type of olive tree to pollinate well. Harvesting starts in early October, goes to mid-November. History Notes Native to Sicily, Italy.
Black Gaeta Olives
Black Gaeta are black olives made in Italy that can be either dry-cured or brine-cured.The dry-cured ones are wrinkly, shrivelled and chewy with a mildly sour and salty taste. They are packed in oil with herbs such as rosemary. The brine-cured ones are dark purple and plump. Either way, Black Gaeta Olives are popular in…
Bosana Olives
Bosana Olives are medium-sized olives, with 17 to 18% oil content. They are used primarily for oil. The olives are harvested when they are deep purple. History Notes Native to Sardinia, Italy.
Canino Olives
Canino Olives are small round olives. Their oil content is in the lower range, 14 to 15%, but the oil is considered a good quality oil so the olives are grown primarily for oil. The olives mature in December. The tree needs another type of olive tree to cross-pollinate with. History Notes Native to Latium…
Carboncella Olives
Carboncella Olives are a small olive (between 1.5 and 2 grams) that is grown for oil owing to its high oil yield of 21 to 25%. The olives are harvested when they mature to a purplish-black. The tree is a good, constant producer that provides a good supply of fair-quality oil. It requires another type…
Carolea Olives
Carolea Olives are medium to large-sized olives grown both for oil and table olives. It has an oil content of 20 to 25%; the oil is considered good quality. The olives can be mechanically harvested when they are being used for oil. When used for table olives, the olives are available either brine-cured or dry-cured….
Casaliva Olives
Casaliva Olives are grown in the northern Italian regions of Friuli, Lombardy, Trentino and Veneto. The small olives, grown primarily for oil, are harvested when purplish-black. They have a good oil yield of 22 to 25%. The oil is light yet aromatic. The Casaliva tree does not need to cross-pollinate with another tree to bear…
Cellina di Nardò Olives
Cellina di Nardò are medium-sized olives grown both for oil and for use as table olives. When grown for oil, they are harvested while still green and pressed. The oil has good body and a fresh smell. When harvested for table olives, they are allowed to ripen on the tree until black. They are grown…
Cerasuola Olives
A Sicilian olive grown primarily in the area between Sciacca and Paceco, Sicily, for oil. Its oil is usually blended with that from Nocellara and Biancolilla olives.
Coratina Olives
These are medium-sized olives with a 21 to 26% oil yield grown for their oil. They are harvested when the olives start to turn black at the tip. The tree needs another type of olive tree to cross-pollinate with. The fruit ripens November and December. Native to Puglia. Also grown in Molise region of Italy,…
Dolce Baresana Olives
Dolce Baresana Olives are grown in Puglia, Italy to be table olives. They are harvested when they are pinkish-purple. The olives as processed by the Pugliese end up sweet and mild.
Dritta di Moscufo Olives
Dritta di Moscufo Olives are small to medium-sized olives that are grown for oil mostly in Abruzzo, Italy.
Dritta Francavillese Olives
Dritta Francavillese Olives are grown in Abruzzo, Italy for oil. They mature for harvesting in October and November.
Frangivento Olives
The Frangivento is a medium-sized olive grown for oil, with an oil yield of 15 to 17%. The tree needs another type of olive tree to pollinate it. The olives mature in the middle of November. History Notes Native to Puglia. Language Notes Its name, Frangivento, which means “wind break”, is owing to the shape…
Frantoio Olives
Frantoio Olives have an oil content between 21 and 23% and are grown for their oil, which is fragrant, and spicy and savoury tasting. The Frantoio tree is a cultivar. It can not only pollinate itself; it is also a good pollinator for many other types of olive trees. The tree branch growth can be…
Grignano Olives
Grignano Olives are small, oval olives grown in the Veneto region of Italy for their oil. They have a low oil yield (14 to 15%) but the oil is good quality, and the tree bears many olives to make up for the low oil yield. The olives are harvested when deep purple. History Notes Native…
Italian Olives
Twenty-five percent of the olives grown in the world are grown in Italy. As of 2004, over 350 varieties of olive trees are cultivated throughout the country. Southern Italian olives yield far more oil than do northern ones. A tree in the south will produce about 20 litres of oil. The average oil yield per…
Itrana Olives
The Itrana Olive tree is an olive tree cultivar grown in the Lazio (Latium) area of Italy.The tree needs another olive tree to pollinate with. It produces round, medium-sized olives that are used in making both table olives and oil. The olives have a good oil yield of 20 to 22%. The oil has a…
Leccino Olives
The Leccino Olive tree is an olive cultivar grown in Central Italy. The tree is small and tolerant of lower temperatures. It usually needs another type of olive tree to pollinate it. It produces small to medium-sized oval olives that mature early. The olives have an oil content of about 17%. They are grown for…
Liguria Olives
Liguria Olives are grown in Liguria, Italy (near the French border.) They are allowed to ripen on the tree until they are brown, purplish or black. They are cured in brine, sometimes with the stems left attached. Then they are packed in olive oil, citrus, fennel and garlic. The olives have shiny, tough skin and…
Lugano Olives
Lugano Olives are actually Swiss olives, though they are usually classified as Italian (a) because of the name and (b) no one can imagine olive trees growing in Switzerland. The town of Lugano is on the shore of Lake Lugano (aka Lake Ceresio) in the Italian speaking Ticino part of Switzerland, which is south of…