There are more than 500 Italian cultivars, including Leccino, Frantoio, Moraiolo, Biancolilla, Coratina, Ogliarola, Moresca, Casaliva, Nocellara and many others. We've chosen seven and here's what you need to know about them.
Cultivars are simply the cultivated varieties of oil olives. They have been selected over millennia by olive oil producers dedicated to identifying plants with the best genetic characteristics in terms of resistance to disease and adverse weather conditions. This was done by paying attention to details such as the vigour of the canopy, productivity, fruit size or oil yield, the ease of oil extraction, and the nutritional and organoleptic properties of the oil itself. Beyond the genetic make-up, however, the positive qualities of a plant also depend on its interaction with the environment, with the type of soil and the microclimate in which it grows. In practice, there is a very close relationship between the genetic characteristics of a plant and those of the environment in which it lives.
The intensive and prolonged activity of olive tree selection has generated a wealth of varieties in Italy that is unmatched anywhere in the world. There are no fewer than 538 Italian cultivars under cultivation, accounting for 40 per cent of all those known globally; Spain, which boasts a greater production of olives and olive oil than Italy, counts 138, or 14 per cent of the total, while Greece, with 52 varieties, represents just 4 per cent. Credit for this uniquely Italian primacy lies with the complexity of our territory, combined with the fact that olive cultivation has traditionally been held in high regard in our country, as demonstrated by the commitment our producers have always brought to their work. Together, these factors have enabled Italy to lay claim to around fifty extra virgin olive oils with PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, bearing the distinctive hallmarks of typicity tied to their territory.
The characteristics that distinguish different cultivars relate not only to oil quality, but also to more general aspects such as the plant's interaction with the soil and climate, productivity and oil yield; each variety resists pest attack in its own way and displays a capacity for plant development in keeping with the resources of the soil in which it grows. Equally, the factors that shape the identity of an oil are numerous. They certainly begin with the health of the fruit and continue with the degree of ripeness of the olives at the time of oil extraction, bearing in mind that over recent decades the general trend has been to bring forward the harvest date, since overripe fruit has proved more vulnerable to the stress of harvesting and the storage that precedes extraction at the mill. The extraction system also plays its part: over the years, olive oil technology has made enormous strides, particularly when, in the second half of the last century, traditional old presses based on pressure extraction were replaced by modern centrifugation mills. Technological modernisation has also extended to oil storage facilities, which today are made of stainless steel, can be blanketed with nitrogen to limit the oil's contact with atmospheric oxygen, and make it possible to best preserve quality characteristics. Finally, filtration of the product helps preserve the organoleptic and beneficial properties of the oil to the greatest possible extent and, by removing particles of vegetation water and olive pulp mucilage, improves the oil's keeping qualities. And then there is the art of the miller, which even today remains a vital and distinctive element in oil quality. To sum up, experts maintain that these factors account for 70 per cent of oil quality, with the remaining 30 per cent directly attributable to the cultivar.
Given equal technological standards, oils obtained from different cultivars display unique compositional, nutritional and sensory characteristics, capable of satisfying the tastes of the most discerning and passionate consumers, lending that extra touch of typicity to regional cuisine.
For simplicity, we have chosen seven of the most widespread and appreciated cultivars among consumers. Here are their origins and characteristics.
Native to Tuscany, it is concentrated mainly in the provinces of Lucca, Pistoia and Pisa. It is a plant characterised by high, consistent productivity and great adaptability to widely varying climatic conditions, which over the years has facilitated its widespread diffusion to other regions of central Italy and even to several countries around the world. The average weight of the olives is around 2 g, with a good oil yield (23 per cent); this cultivar produces an oil with a distinctly green colour and faint yellowish tints, distinguished by a medium-to-strong intensity olive fruitiness that is complex and elegant, with broad vegetal notes evoking thistle and artichoke against a backdrop of dry almond.
Originating in Tuscany, this olive variety has spread throughout the rest of central Italy, into Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise, Lazio and the Marche. Its fruit weighs between 2 and 2.5 g and ripens early, so at the time of milling it presents a jet-black colour, with an average oil yield of around 20 per cent. The oil obtained from the Leccino cultivar has a predominantly ripe olive fruitiness together with vegetal aromas. On the palate, the bitter and pungent sensations are restrained or in any case of mild intensity.
A variety widely cultivated in Puglia, particularly in the province of Bari — especially throughout the northern Bari area — and in part of the province of Foggia. The fruit, which is slightly asymmetrical, has an average weight of more than 4 grams. The oil yield is around 25 per cent. It produces an intensely fruity oil with a strongly persistent flavour. On the nose there is a powerful scent of fresh olive and echoes of dry almond with very pleasing floral notes. But it is the flavour that characterises the oil of this inimitable cultivar: bitter notes, typical of the olive fruit, combine with an undertone of sweet, dry, lightly toasted almond alongside pleasingly floral notes of bitter almond. The flavour is accompanied by a pungency that builds gradually before becoming intense and lingering on the finish.
Widespread in the province of Bari under the synonyms Paesana and Cima di Bitonto, but also in the Foggia area and in Basilicata. It is a vigorously growing tree, while the fruit has an average size of just over 2 g and an oil yield that often exceeds 20 per cent. The oil it yields is an intense yellow with faint green hues; it has the characteristics of a medium-intensity fruity oil, with a flavour in which mild bitter notes give way to broad impressions of sweet, dry almond on the finish.
A Puglian variety widespread in the Gargano area, comparable to the Ogliarola barese. The medium-sized fruits, 2–4 g, provide a good yield and an oil with an intense yellow colour with more or less pronounced green highlights. On the nose, elegant and distinctive notes of freshly mown grass are clearly identifiable; the taste is refined and harmonious, with echoes of fresh grass and pleasant notes of sweet almond on the finish. The persistence of the flavour notes on the palate is moderate.
A Sicilian cultivar widespread in the provinces of Agrigento and Trapani, particularly in the Valle del Belice. A modestly sized plant, it nevertheless produces large fruits with an average weight of 5–7 g. It is an olive destined primarily for the table, with a good oil yield of 20 per cent. The oil obtained from the Nocellara del Belice has a particularly intense aroma, green and herbaceous with characteristic notes of green tomato. On the palate, the vegetal notes are reminiscent of various wild herbs with a slight citrus edge, against a backdrop of medium-intensity bitterness. The pungency and persistence are fairly restrained.
This is a variety believed to originate in Tuscany but also typical and very widespread in Umbria, especially south of Perugia in the Spoleto valley. The fruits are small, just over a gram, but with an oil yield exceeding 20 per cent. The colour of the oil is a clean green of varying intensity. Intensely fruity with pronounced vegetal notes, the oil obtained from the Moraiolo cultivar is decidedly bitter and pungent, with hints of leaf and elegant, characteristic woody notes.