🫒 Carolea

Carolea is the most important olive cultivar of Calabria in southern Italy, used both for oil and for table olives. It is planted on more than 50,000 hectares, mostly in the province of Catanzaro, and also in Cosenza, Crotone, Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria. Where it comes from is unknown: the IOC catalogue does not establish its origin.

Carolea has 23 local names: Calabrese, Catanzarese, Oliva Dolce, “crow's beak”, “crow's muzzle”. The fruit is large, moderately elongated, strongly asymmetric, with a noticeable “nipple”, and black when ripe.

Carolea is used both for oil and for table olives. The fruit holds 18 to 22% oil by weight, depending on harvest time; the oil contains about 73% oleic acid and is considered good. The cultivar ripens late and unevenly, although oil builds up in the fruit early.

The tree is vigorous and comes into bearing late; yields are medium and alternate from year to year. Carolea barely pollinates itself — its self-fertility is about 3%. The fruit does not hold very firmly to the branches, so it is easy to harvest by machine. The cultivar withstands cold and suffers little from olive knot, but is badly hit by the olive fly and peacock spot.

Why it matters to you. The name on the bottle tells you how much Carolea is inside. “Lametia” (PDO) stands for at least 90% Carolea trees, in effect a single-cultivar oil; “Alto Crotonese” for 70% or more; “Bruzio” with the “Valle Crati” subzone for 50% or more. The PGI “Olio di Calabria”, by contrast, lets the eight main local cultivars together, so it does not promise Carolea as such.