Mission olive: United States's table and oil variety

The beginning of olive growing in the Americas is tied to one variety: Mission. It takes its name from the Spanish missions — carried to California by way of Mexico in the 18th century.

The California black olive

Mission became the basis of an American industry: the California-style black olive. That method differs from Mediterranean natural brining:

• The fruit is picked at green maturity.
• It is aerated while held in an alkaline solution, and darkens by oxidation.
• The colour is fixed with ferrous gluconate (E579).
• Then it is canned.

So the smooth, matte-black, soft olive in the can is not naturally black — it was picked green and darkened. For the comparison with natural brining: how olives are cured.

Why Mission?

The variety itself is not remarkable; it was chosen for hardiness. Mission adapts to cold, drought and varied soils better than Mediterranean cultivars — the first thing you want in a plant taken to a new continent.

Today it is also pressed for oil in California, giving a moderate, balanced oil.

Compared with Türkiye

Mission's story is the mirror image of Gemlik's: each established a region's black table olive identity. The difference is method — Gemlik darkens on its own in natural brine, Mission is darkened chemically.

The taste difference follows from that: natural brining preserves the fruit's own aroma, while the California style yields a product that is uniform but neutral. On judging what you have bought: has the olive gone off?

Related pages

• World olive varieties: from Picual to Kalamata
• Türkiye's 17 olive varieties
• Chilling requirement in olives