Juicy and with a pleasant flavor it is easy to digest and considered the best of the green olives even for many of us who find most olives unpalatable. So good, in fact, that in 2006 it officially became the 'Oliva ascolana del Piceno' and a protected DOP product.

The oliva ascolana has only been with us since 1800, most probably thanks to a cook working at the service of a local noble family. This sweetness is due to the microclimate of the surrounding hills as well as natural selection, as only one olive is produced from every hundred flowers.

The traditional way of conserving the olives is in brine. After a brief phase of fermentation, around 10 days, the olives are placed in vases with around 70 grams of salt for every liter of water with the addition of wild 'finocchio'.

To make the famous fried olives, they are filled with fresh meat mash of beef, pork and small quantiies of chicken and turkey. They are then fried in boling oil and eaten hot to appreciate the full flavour.

The best cooks are able to balance the taste of the olive with that of the meat to produce a flavor that is slightly bitter or 'amarognolo'.

The olive is cultivated in 62 comunes of the province of Ascoli Piceno and 27 of the comune of the province of Teramo in neighbouring Abruzzo.

Discover the ancient territory of the area with these special itineraries around Ascoli Piceno

See also fried food festival in Ascoli Piceno