Cerignola Olives are a variety of olives mostly produced in Italy and known for their size and the mild flavor in comparison to the ordinary olives. They come in green red and black and are used to produce oils or in salads as is the case with any other olive.
The variety is named for the town in Italy in which it was produced and now it’s grown around the world where ever the climate allows for it.
Cerignola Olive Trivia
- It’s technically a fruit
- Fossil evidence show that olives are 20-40 million years old
- They are grown commercially for 3000 years
Cerignola Olive Buying Guide
The color and the firmness of the olives are the features to look for if you want to make sure that they are fresh. The color and the firmness are connected one another and the darker the shade of the oil is the firmer it should be if it’s fresh.
They are much larger than ordinary olives but they look and feel the same as the ordinary ones in terms of going old and losing their qualities which is when you should avoid them.
Cerignola Olive Production & Farming in Texas
Growing olives in Texas isn’t always easy due to the climate difference from their original source and the one in Texas. However, it can be done and it’s done commercially by many successful farmers. At this point there’s as much as 800 acres of Texas land covered in olives.
The goal is to find the climate that most resembles that of the Mediterranean: meaning mild winters and long and dry summers. The trees start to grow in spring when the temperatures go above 80 F. They don’t experience winter dormancy periods like most other trees.
Soil is much less of an issue for olives because they grow in a variety of different areas and they are used to a variety of different soils. It can grow from sandy soil to those that are filled with clay. The ph value that can be used ranges from 5.5 to 8.5.
The tree needs to be 4 to 5 years old in order to bear fruit. This is therefore a long term investment. They are harvested in mid to late September to early October. A mature olive can be green or black depending on the variety you’re growing.
Pesticides
Insecticides are commonly applied to olive groves to control pests, such as Dacus oleae, Saissetia oleae and Prays oleae. They also increase the size of the yield.
Geography
This particular type of olive comes from Italy, more precisely from the south-eastern Italian province of Apulia and is named for the town of Cerignola, is popular as table olives. From there it was able to find the customers and aficionados around the world including the US.
Their first production was made for the purpose of selling oil. The craze to use the olives in food and in salads and pizza in particular is a later inventions and one that was mostly popularized by the Italian population.
Packaging
How olives are packed depends on when they are ripe. Green olives are picked before they are ripe and therefore they come in jars and not in cans, as is the case with the black ones. The green ones need to be brine-cured before they can be packed. That’s a process that lasts of 8 months.
After that the olives packed in jars could be stored for quite a long time without being refrigerated. That’s the case for edible olives, other simply go towards making oil.
Enjoying Cerignola Olives
How you can use the olives depends on are they brined when you buy them or you need to brine them yourself. It starts with discarding the brine and marinating them in oil and lemon. If not, you can also keep them in salty water and use them as such. Olives are usually added to salads, pizzas, pastas and used as a side to a dish.
All of these options should be considered with taking into account the taste and properties of the olives themselves. They are bitter and a bit harsh and therefore they are used to add balance to your dish and especially so if it’s bland in taste without them.
Storage
When the olives come in brine you can store them in a pantry or just in the kitchen if it’s not too hot and that can be done for a long time, as long as months in some cases. If you brine the olives yourself the same applies when you’re done.
However, brining is a skill of its own and there are plenty of tips out there on how to do it, but be prepared for the learning curve.
Cooking
These olives are milder than the ordinary ones and that should be taken into account when you choose the recipe for them. However, they will still be a bit sour and you should add cheeses and milder vegetables to mitigate those features.
To prepare the pickle, combine the vinegar, 3 cups of water, sugar, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, shallot, garlic, and cilantro in a small saucepan. Bring the pickling liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer, and allow the contents to cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool completely.
Place the feta in a large mixing bowl or divide it between two 1-quart jars, and pour the cool pickling solution over the cheese. Make sure all of the feta is completely submerged. (If you use quart jars, you will have a little bit of extra brine left over, which you can use for a salad dressing.) Cover the feta and refrigerate it for at least five days.
To prepare the salad, remove the pickled feta from the liquid and drain it on paper towels. In a salad bowl, toss together the olives, strawberries, olive oil, chopped cilantro, and spinach. Stir in the feta, then season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Nutrition
They’re associated with many health benefits, especially for heart health and cancer prevention. Antioxidant properties Dietary antioxidants have been shown to reduce your risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer. Olives are rich in antioxidants, with health benefits ranging from fighting inflammation to reducing microorganism growth. One study showed that eating a pulpy residue from olives significantly increased blood levels of glutathione, one of the most powerful antioxidants in your body.
