Oliva Zaituna
Zaituna Olive
The name is the Arabic zaytūna, and the Zaituna is widely held to be the first olive cultivated in Sicily. It grows only on the hills above the Gulf of Syracuse, in a landscape that documents itself: rock-cut presses from the late Bronze Age, Hellenistic amphorae, centuries-old trees. The fruit is large, heart-shaped, deep green with paler highlights.
Designation
- Certification
- Slow Food Presidium
- Category
- Oils and fats
Where it is made
the hills above the Gulf of Syracuse, to 400 m
How it is made
The groves are mostly unirrigated and pruned to the open vase, though polyconic pruning is being tried for vigour and yield; picking is by hand or with assisted tools. The oil yields well and carries more than 400 mg/kg of polyphenols: medium to intense fruitiness, artichoke and cut grass on the nose, bitter and pungent in balance, finishing long on bitter almond.