Frantoio olives
Tuscany’s benchmark oil olive — the backbone of classic Italian extra virgin.
The Frantoio is one of the great oil olives, the heart of traditional Tuscan extra virgin and now planted around the world for its quality. Its name simply means “oil mill” in Italian — a fair clue to its purpose. The oil is fruity, fresh and pleasantly peppery, balanced rather than fierce, which is why it travels so well and blends so happily.
- Origin
- Tuscany · Italy
- Type
- Oil olive
- Flavour (oil)
- Fruity, fresh, peppery
- Character
- Balanced, aromatic
- Grown in
- Italy, and worldwide
- Best for
- Everyday and finishing oil
The balanced classic
Frantoio is the olive behind a great deal of what people think of as “proper Italian olive oil” — green-fruity aromas, a clean bitterness and a peppery finish, all in proportion. It is traditionally blended with Leccino in Tuscan oils, the Leccino softening and rounding the Frantoio’s edge. Because it performs so well, it has been exported to California, Australia and beyond.
Because frantoio also means “oil mill,” the word on a label or a sign may refer to the press, not the olive variety. If you are buying a single-variety oil, look for “Frantoio” named as the cultivar — ideally alongside a region and a harvest date.