🫒 Meski
Tunisia's main table-olive cultivar, originally from Manouba in the north; grown mostly on irrigated land.
Meski is the main table olive variety of Tunisia. It comes from Manouba in the north of the country and today grows mostly on irrigated land throughout Tunisia, where it covers about 60 per cent of that area. Other names for the variety are Ktoubri and Octobri.
The fruit is large, symmetrical and medium purple when ripe. Buyers in Tunisia and abroad value it for its mild bitterness and because the flesh comes away from the stone easily. Meski is best suited to green olives.
The variety is no good for oil: the fruit contains no more than 22 per cent fat, and the oil has only about 55 per cent oleic acid.
Meski pollinates itself poorly, so the French Picholine is planted next to it in orchards. The variety is afraid of drought and salty water, so it grows only where there is irrigation, and on the humid coast it is attacked by leaf spot. The crop is small and uneven, so since the 1990s breeders have been selecting better clones and hybrids of Meski.
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- 🫒 Table olives
Frequently asked questions
Why is Meski not used for oil?
The fruit holds little fat, and the oil is low in oleic acid.
Where does Meski grow?
On irrigated land in Tunisia; the variety comes from Manouba in the north.
Why is Picholine planted next to Meski?
Meski pollinates itself poorly.
Similar
🫒 Aggezi Shami · 🫒 Toffahi · 🫒 Chemlali · 🫒 Chemlal · 🫒 Oueslati · 🫒 Chalkidiki (olive)