Manzanilla de Sevilla
The most widely planted table olive in the world, and the fruit behind Sevillian-style green olives. Thin skin, firm and non-fibrous flesh, and a stone that releases cleanly — bred by centuries of selection for the brine barrel, not the mill.
In the grove
Manzanilla is grown across the Guadalquivir valley — Seville, Badajoz and Huelva — and, unusually for a Spanish variety, well beyond: Portugal, the United States, Israel, Argentina and Australia. It ripens early and is picked green, at the straw-yellow stage before colour change, then lye-treated and fermented in brine.
Its IGP dossier makes an unusual admission: the variety loses its qualities when grown outside the delimited area, and cites failed Californian plantings as evidence. It needs a mild climate and loose alluvial ground, and it is very sensitive to Verticillium wilt. The oil it does make is described by the IOC as of high quality and stability, but no polyphenol or oleic figure is published — because almost nobody presses it.
Compared with the other reference cultivars
| Cultivar | Origin | Typical polyphenols | Sensory profile | Best pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manzanilla de Sevilla | Seville, Spain | Not published | Grown for the table; oil rarely bottled monovarietal | The olive itself — vermouth, tapas |
| Picual | Jaén, Spain | 300–700 mg/kg | Intensely green, clean bitterness, late-building pungency | Tomato salad, grilled vegetables, bread and salt |
| Coratina | Puglia, Italy | 330–410 mg/kg | Powerfully green and herbaceous, strong bitterness and pungency | Bean soups, grilled meat, bitter greens |
| Koroneiki | Messinia, Greece | Around the Greek mean; Cretan surveys 138–441 mg/kg | Green and aromatic, balanced bitterness and pungency | Greek salad, feta, grilled fish, horta |
| Arbequina | Lleida, Spain | 200–230 mg/kg | Soft, sweet entry, barely bitter, light pungency | Fish, salads, baking, mayonnaise |
| Hojiblanca | Córdoba, Spain | 280–820 mg/kg | Green-fruity, firm bitterness, peppery finish when picked early | Roast vegetables, pulses, aged cheese |
| Cornicabra | Toledo, Spain | ~630 mg/kg | Intensely fruity, elegant moderate bitterness, measured pungency | Game, stews, hard cheese, toast |
| Picudo | Córdoba, Spain | Not published | Aromatic and sweet, very little bitterness | Desserts, fresh cheese, delicate fish |
Polyphenol figures are the ranges published for each variety, not measurements of any bottle in the library. A single oil's figure depends on when it was picked and how it was milled, and is shown on that oil's own page where the producer states one.