The Cailletier is a cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 of olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

s grown primarily in the Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

 region near Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

. It is best known under the name Niçoise, which signifies its curing method, in which form it is an important ingredient in the Niçoise salad

Niçoise salad

Niçoise salad , , is a mixed salad consisting of various vegetables topped The salad or "salade" is displayed on a flat plate or platter and arranged on a bed of lettuce. Ripe tomato wedges, wedges of hard-boiled eggs, are topped with canned tuna , and Niçoise Cailletier olives. Finally the salad...

. It can also be used for the production of oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

. This cultivar is particularly susceptible to the Olive fruit fly

Olive fruit fly

The olive fruit fly is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the Dacinae subfamily MUNRO, 1984. It is a kind of phytophagous species, whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name...

.

Extent

The Cailletier is particularly common in the Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

 region of southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, where it is the main variety, and also in nearby Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

 in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It can also be found as far away as Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Synonyms

In Italy the cultivar is known under the name of Taggiasca. Locally it is known under a number of different synonyms, including Cayet or Cayon, Grassenc, Olivier de Grasse, Pendoulier and Pleureur. The name Niçoise is not a synonym, but the name of the olive after a particular processing (see below).

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of good strength and large size, with an erect growth form

Plant life-form

Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs , etc...

, and elliptic-lanceolate leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 of medium length and width. The olives are of low weight, ovoid shape and symmetrical. The stone has a rounded apex and base, with a rugose surface and a mucro.

For use in oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 production the olive is harvested in mid-November. Fruits for use as table olives, on the other hand, can be harvested up until May. The fully ripe olives have "a dark colour that ranges from black brownish-purple to brownish-black".

Processing

The Cailletier is a dual use cultivar, used both for the extraction of oil and as a table olive. In spite of the fact that the stone is relatively large, it gives a yield of oil (20–25%). The oil has a sweet delicate quality, and is appreciated by novice olive oil consumers. It has a taste of fresh almond

Almond

The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

 and hazelnut

Hazelnut

A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...

. For a more bitter, strong taste, a harvest before the end of the year is preferable. The cultivar is used in three officially approved appellations

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

: the "AOC Huile d'Olive de Nice", "AOC Olive de Nice

Olive de Nice

The Olive de Nice is a PDO olive from the Alpes-Maritimes area of France.The rules state that they must be of the Cailletier variety, and harvest must not exceed 6 tons per hectare....

" and "AOC Pâte d'Olive de Nice".

The best-known application of the Cailletier is for Niçoise salad

Niçoise salad

Niçoise salad , , is a mixed salad consisting of various vegetables topped The salad or "salade" is displayed on a flat plate or platter and arranged on a bed of lettuce. Ripe tomato wedges, wedges of hard-boiled eggs, are topped with canned tuna , and Niçoise Cailletier olives. Finally the salad...

s. For this purpose the olives are cured

Curing (food preservation)

Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...

 black, a process carried out in the Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 area, hence the name.

Agronomy

It is considered a productive cultivar, but with a tendency towards biennial bearing, i.e. that a good yield is followed by a weaker one the next year. It is generally agreed that the cultivar is self-fertile, but some authorities still recommend the presence of other pollinator

Pollinator

A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...

s.

It is vulnerable to certain organic pests, primarily the Bactrocera oleae

Olive fruit fly

The olive fruit fly is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the Dacinae subfamily MUNRO, 1984. It is a kind of phytophagous species, whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name...

(Olive fruit fly). Other risks are the Saissetia oleae, Spilocaea oleaginea and Sooty moulds. Also starling

Starling

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...

s are particularly fond of the Cailletier. While somewhat vulnerable to cold, it has high resistance to drought.