🫒 Nocellara del Belice
A Sicilian cultivar from the Belice Valley, grown there for a very long time; used for oil and table olives.
Nocellara del Belice is a Sicilian olive variety from the valley of the Belice river in the west of the island, where it has been grown since ancient times. The variety plays two roles: it is used both for oil and for famous green table olives.
Nocellara is similar to some Tunisian varieties. That is why researchers suppose the olive was once carried across the sea, either from the African coast to Sicily or the other way round, as early as Roman times. Its local names include "Castelvetrano olive", "round olive" and "Trapanese".
The fruit is large, almost round and black when ripe. The flesh is firm and crunchy, which makes high-quality green olives. The fruit holds a medium amount of oil, 18–19 per cent, but the oil is rich in oleic acid (73–75 per cent) and has an excellent flavour.
Nocellara gives a moderate but steady crop. It cannot pollinate itself, so it needs neighbours of other varieties. The fruit comes off the branches easily, which suits machine harvesting. The variety copes badly with drought and is very sensitive to the olive fly, leaf spot and olive knot.
How it connects to Olives
🫒 Nocellara del Belice → used for → 🫒 Table olives → kind of → 🫒 Olives
Links
- Part of
- 🫒 Olive cultivars
- Where it grows
- 📍 Sicily
- Which olives are made
- 🫒 Table olives
Frequently asked questions
What is Nocellara used for?
Both for oil and for green table olives with crunchy flesh.
What else is this variety called?
For example, "Castelvetrano olive" or "round olive".
Is its crop steady?
Yes: the crop is moderate but steady from year to year.
Similar
🫒 Chalkidiki (olive) · 🫒 Meski · 🫒 Domat · 🫒 Aggezi Shami · 🫒 Toffahi · 🫒 Konservolia