More about Picholines olives

Origin
It is probably originating from Collias (Gard). It is the most common green olive in France.

Nick names
It is sometimes called Plant de Collias, Coïasse, Colliasse, or even False Lucques due to the shape of its fruit.

Qualities and tastes
Its stone is small, its flesh subtle, firm and tasty. It has a long preservation in pickling brine and keeps its green colour from one harvest to another. Its fruit is perfectly fit for pickling.

Picholines olive oil

TREE

SPREAD : not very spread.

VIGOUR : average.

HABIT : relatively spread. Sturdy and resistant variety. It has a particular liking for clay-limestone soils, but it adapts itself to all kinds of soils. The tree needs to be trimmed every year. It can be grafted without difficulties onto every variety. However, the stock which produced the best results is the Saurin or Sauzen.

SHAPE : the tree is shaped as an enlargened dome or sometimes beaker-shaped.

FOLIAGE : the leaves are dressed, large, thick, without stiffness, silvery green on the underside, often yellowing, with a prominent vein on the underside.

BLOSSOMING : in may / june. The flowers are clustered in thick bunches.

FERTILITY : quite fertile with a minimum of attention. Each tree can regularly yield an average of 20 kilos of olives on a mediocre soil.

FRUIT

SIZE : medium to large. Average commercial calibre 24/30 fruits/hecto.

SHAPE : egg-shaped, elongated, clearly more convex on one end than on the other. Profound peduncular depression. Top shaped in a blunt point.

PEDUNCLE : medium to long, large, curved.

SKIN : smooth, pure green until the beginning of maturity; takes then a light wine-coloured tinge, followed later on by a deep purple, almost black or a reddish black.

FLESH : abundant pulp, whitish when the fruit is green, moderately rich with oil (17% in the works).

STONE : long, thin, spindle-shaped, slightly asymmetrical and a bit curved. Thin endocarp, enclosing a long and narrow almond.

MATURITY : december, januari (harvested green in october, november).