Mission
Olea europaea 'Mission' · Fruit
Top 10 pairings
The Mission is California's heritage olive — a small-to-medium, oval, black-when-ripe drupe descended from the trees Franciscan missionaries planted along the California coast in the late 18th century. A true dual-purpose cultivar, it is grown both for a fruity, slightly bitter olive oil and as the canned "California black ripe" olive found in cans on supermarket shelves, where lye-curing and air-oxidation turn it a uniform jet black.
Picking a good onedrag
Firm and glossy under a bright brineSlack and dull, the brine turned
SettledEveryday bestIt has dulled but stays dense. Use it in tapenade, pizza, roast chicken or braises.
The olivesA shade duller, skin still whole
Brine, jar or open tinSediment below, fruit still under
Squeeze one, once openGives a little, flesh still dense
Smell the open packSalty and sharp, a little vinegary
These cues are Olive's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
100%
Edible part
2.7 g drained · USDA records no refuse
2.7 g
Weight each
each one