Generalites:

The Coratina olive is characterized by one of the most widespread and appreciated cultivars in the Apulian territory: without a shadow of doubt, this region proves once again as one of the best in the entire Italian peninsula due to its considerable production of oils table. The name Coratina refers, as you can easily guess, to its origin from the town of Corato, which is located in the province of Bari, in an area that is located north of the Murge. In any case, right from Corato, this Coratina cultivar has been able to spread, in practice, throughout the surrounding area and, for this reason, represents today one of the varieties that are mostly grown indoors in the northern part of the province of Bari. The Coratina olive tree is characterized by its medium size and by the fact of developing a rather expanded crown which, at the same time, has rather short branches, but which in any case present interesting and remarkable aptitudes to cultivation. The Coratina olive tree is also characterized by having a vigor that falls within the average of the genus to which it belongs, but above all it has the particularity of being adaptable: in fact, it is able to develop without particular problems on many different types of land , even on those that are stony or have a high concentration of limestone.The milling of the olives obtained from this cultivar leads to a truly excellent oil, which is characterized by denoting a high concentration of polyphenols and a very low quantity of peroxides, or chemical elements that do not have good stability, but are decidedly oxidizing and, for this reason, lead to rapid aging. In very special cases, in which the concentrations are quite high, there is the possibility that the peroxides are explosive. However, another very interesting feature of the oil that is obtained from the Coratina cultivar is, without a shadow of a doubt, that of having a reduced acid content, even below the threshold of o, 2%. The coloring of this oil is yellow-green; among the other characteristics of Coratina oil we find the fact of being particularly aromatic, but also of having rather fruity and deep tastes, but also a bitter and, albeit slightly, spicy aftertaste. This last quality of the oil derives from the fact of having a high concentration of oleuropein, for the bitter part, and of polyphenols, for the spicy part.

Cultivation and Care:

The Coratina Olive Tree, more than the minimum winter temperatures, however, fears the sudden changes in temperature that can cause splits in the trunks and branches. Some parts of the plant are particularly sensitive to the action of frost: the leaves, the buds and the bark. The latter is torn not only in the twigs, but also in the larger branches and in the trunk. The olive tree is a plant that prefers arid environments while it fears excessive humidity, except in spring, in correspondence with the maximum vegetative activity. Calcareous and dry soils are ideal, but good productions can also be had well in clayey soils, if well drained, and in sandy soils, as long as they are sufficiently irrigated.