Super rare: white olives
They grow in Malta, southern Italy and Greece, and they’re incredibly rare: white olives. They used to be considered sacred; nowadays, the white olive is a special delicacy.
How does the white olive get that albino-like color? As green and black olives ripen, they develop anthocyanins and flavonoids. These give the olives their color. This doesn’t happen with white olives. Spontaneous mutation, according to the University of Bari. Because of this deviation, the flavor is milder, sweeter and less bitter, as this olive contains far fewer antioxidants. White olive oil actually tastes the same as ‘regular’ olive oil, but can be stored for much less time.
Sacred olives
The white olives, official name: Leucocarpa, have existed for centuries. Because of their color, they were considered pure and even sacred. They probably originally came from Greece and were brought to Italy by the Greeks. There is evidence that oil from white olives was used in religious rituals and to anoint emperors and kings.
Rare mutation
These special olives can be found in southern Italy, Greece and Malta, but they have almost disappeared. In Malta, for example, only three trees remained when the overenthusiastic olive farmer Sam Cremona began propagating them again. ‘Those old trees stood near a nunnery; I thought they were trees with a strange mutation. It was only at a conference that I heard how rare and special this ancient olive variety is.’ Sam got to work and hopes other countries will follow his example. ‘But whether white olives will stay white when they grow in, for example, New Zealand, well, we’ll have to find that out.’
