The Cailletier, also known in English by the Italian name Taggiasca, is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s grown primarily in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

region near

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Riviera di Ponente The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( ; ) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinally it extends from the border with Fra ...

, Italy. It is best known under the name Niçoise, which signifies its curing method. It is commonly used as an important ingredient in the salade niçoise. It can also be used for the production of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

. This cultivar is particularly susceptible to the olive fruit fly.

Extent

The Cailletier is particularly common in the

region of southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where it is the main variety, and also in nearby

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It can also be found as far away as

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Synonyms

In Italy the cultivar is known under the name of Taggiasca, which derives from the town of Taggia. Locally it is known under a number of different synonyms, including Cayet or Cayon, Grassenc, Olivier de Grasse, Pendoulier and Pleureur. The name Niçoise is not a synonym, but the name of the olive after a particular processing (see below).

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of good strength and large size, with an erect

growth form Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs (forbs and graminoids), etc. The sci ...

, and elliptic-lanceolate

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

of medium length and width. The olives are of low weight, ovoid shape and symmetrical. The stone has a rounded apex and base, with a rugose surface and a

mucro The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

. For use in

production the olive is harvested in mid-November. Fruits for use as table olives, on the other hand, can be harvested up until May. The fully ripe olives have "a dark colour that ranges from black brownish-purple to brownish-black".

Processing

The Cailletier is a dual use cultivar, used both for the extraction of oil and as a table olive. In spite of the fact that the stone is relatively large, it gives a yield of oil (20–25%). The oil has a sweet delicate quality, and is appreciated by novice olive oil consumers. It has a taste of fresh

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

and

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

. For a more bitter, strong taste, a harvest before the end of the year is preferable. In France the cultivar is used in three officially approved '' appellations'': the "AOC Huile d'Olive de Nice", "AOC Olive de Nice" and "AOC Pâte d'Olive de Nice"; in Italy the quality of the Taggiasca cultivar is granted by Protected Designation of Origin - PDO regulations. The best-known application of the Cailletier is for Niçoise salads. For this purpose the olives are cured black, a process carried out in the

Agronomy

It is considered a productive cultivar, but with a tendency towards biennial bearing, i.e. that a good yield is followed by a weaker one the next year. It is generally agreed that the cultivar is self-fertile, but some authorities still recommend the presence of other

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

s. It is vulnerable to certain organic

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, primarily the ''

Bactrocera oleae The olive fruit fly (''Bactrocera oleae'') is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the subfamily Dacinae. It is a phytophagous species whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name. It is considered a serious pest in t ...

'' (Olive fruit fly). Other risks are the '' Saissetia oleae'', '' Spilocaea oleaginea'' and Sooty moulds. Also

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, know ...

s are particularly fond of the Cailletier. While somewhat vulnerable to cold, it has high resistance to drought.

References

{{Olives Olive cultivars