Dual Purpose Varieties
Dual purpose olive cultivars can be used both to make olive oil and to process for table olives. Some are picked black (ripe) for processing, and other cultivars are picked and processed green, depending on the variety. These olives also have a reasonably high oil content, and can be pressed for oil.
Mission
A tree of strong vigor with an erect habit and canopy of medium density. Fruit is medium weight with a slightly asymmetrical ovoid shape. Prized as a dual-purpose variety, being used in green and black pickling as well as oil production. When mature, the fruit has about 22% oil content. Productivity is medium and alternate. Ripening is late.
Nocellara del Belice
A Sicilian variety characterized by the shape of its branches and by the expansive crown of modest growth. The fruit is large (5-7 grams) and the flesh, which is very consistent in texture and prized for brining, represents 85-88 %. An oil content of 16 – 20%, of the best quality, light and perfumed. The maturation is late but if the fruit is for table olives, it is picked green. The plant is self-incompatible, of medium and consistent productiveness, cross pollinating with Coratina, Frantoio, Arbequina and Barnea. Adaptable to cold, fairly tolerant of drought and saline soils.
Carolea
Grown in Calabria, Italy, and in the area of Enna, Sicily Medium to large-sized olives grown both for oil and table olives. With an oil content of 20 to 25%; the oil is considered good quality. A moderately vigorous tree, the olives can be mechanically harvested when they are being used for oil.