Peranzana Olives
The refined olive of northern Puglia (the Daunia): French by origin, with a delicate, almondy oil.
The Peranzana is the refined olive of the Daunia, in northern Puglia around Torremaggiore — and a quiet curiosity, for it descends from a Provençal variety brought to the region centuries ago. Unlike Puglia’s fierce Coratina, it gives a delicate, sweet, almond-scented oil, and it doubles as a fine green table olive. Elegance from a region better known for power.
- Origin
- Daunia, northern Puglia · Italy
- Type
- Table & oil
- Colour
- Green to black
- Flavour (oil)
- Delicate, sweet, almond
- Ancestry
- From a Provençal variety
- Contrast
- Gentle, unlike Coratina
- Best for
- Fine oil and green table olives
Puglia’s gentle exception
Puglia is famous for big, bold, bitter oils, so the Peranzana surprises: light, sweet and fragrant, with soft almond and herb notes and only gentle bitterness. The story goes that it arrived from Provence under Angevin rule — which would explain why it tastes more like a southern French olive than a Puglian one. It is equally good cured as a crisp green table olive.
A delicate Peranzana oil is best enjoyed young and fresh, where its almond-and-herb perfume shines — it is not the high-polyphenol bruiser that a Coratina is. A named Daunia Peranzana is a lovely, less-expected face of Puglia.