Biancolilla Olives
One of Sicily’s oldest varieties: a pale, mild, delicate oil.
The Biancolilla is one of Sicily’s oldest and most characteristic olives, named for the pale, lilac-tinged colour of its ripening fruit. It gives a delicate, light, sweet oil with soft almond and tomato notes and very gentle bitterness — the mild counterpoint that, blended with the fruitier Nocellara and the bolder Cerasuola, builds the classic oils of western Sicily’s Val di Mazara.
- Origin
- Western Sicily · Italy
- Type
- Oil olive
- Colour
- Pale green to lilac
- Flavour (oil)
- Delicate, sweet, almond
- Bitterness
- Low
- Role
- Gentle blending partner
- Best for
- Mild oil, delicate dishes
The soft side of Sicily
Sicily is known for vivid, aromatic oils, but the Biancolilla is its gentle voice: pale, light and sweet, with a fine almond character and barely any bite. On its own it is a delicate, early-drinking oil ; in a blend it softens and rounds its more assertive Sicilian neighbours into the balanced Val di Mazara DOP style.
A delicate oil like Biancolilla is gorgeous fresh but, being low in bitterness and polyphenols, is best enjoyed young rather than cellared. It is the oil to reach for when a fierce Coratina or Moraiolo would simply flatten a delicate dish.