Nocellara del Belice
The Sicilian variety behind the famous Castelvetrano: a bright green table olive and a fine oil.
The Nocellara del Belice is the Sicilian olive variety that, cured a particular way, becomes the famous bright-green Castelvetrano table olive. Grown in the Valle del Belìce in western Sicily, it is genuinely dual-purpose: the plump green fruit makes a superb buttery table olive, and pressed it gives a fresh, green, well-balanced extra virgin. The table olives carry a protected designation.
- Origin
- Valle del Belìce, Sicily · Italy
- Type
- Table & oil
- Colour
- Bright green
- Cured as
- Castelvetrano
- Flavour
- Buttery, mild, fresh
- Oil
- Green, balanced
- Best for
- Table olives and oil
One olive, two names
This is a good example of how olive names work. Nocellara del Belice is the cultivar — the tree and its fruit. Castelvetrano is what you call those olives once they have been cured by the mild Sicilian method that keeps them that startling green and gives them their buttery, almost sweet flavour. So every Castelvetrano is a Nocellara del Belice; not every Nocellara is sold as a Castelvetrano — some are pressed for oil instead.
That vivid green is natural to the variety and its fresh cure — but be wary of cheap bright-green olives from elsewhere dyed or treated to imitate the Castelvetrano look. The real thing is a protected Sicilian product. See the full story on the Castelvetrano page.