Bella di Cerignola olive

Olive Bella di Cerignola

What it is

Bella di Cerignola is among the largest table olives on the market — its growers call it the biggest in the world, though no register ranks varieties that way. The specification puts each fruit between six and thirty grams, where a small Gaeta counts in the hundreds to the kilo. Its DOP is registered under a third name again, La Bella della Daunia, after the ancient name of the plain it grows on.

In the kitchen

Low in oil and full of water, it goes flabby the moment it meets heat. Stone it by hand, stuff it with an anchovy or a shard of manchego, and serve at cellar temperature — straight from the fridge the flesh reads as nothing at all.

Goes with

Anchovy Manchego Almond Piquillo pepper Sherry vinegar Olive oil Celery Lemon

Same species

Agrumato lemon oil Olive Cracked olive of the Vallée des Baux Castelvetrano olive Gaeta olive Gordal olive

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