Fratepietro pitted green olives

Fratepietro Bella di Cerignola Pitted Green Olives in Brine – Ready to Use, Straight from Puglia

The world's most celebrated table olive — stone-free and ready to eat. These are the same Bella di Cerignola green olives grown and cured on the Fratepietro family estate in Cerignola, Puglia, since 1890, now pitted for effortless use in cooking, entertaining and everyday eating. Firm, meaty and mild in flavour.

Format: 340ml, 290 grams net weight, 120 grams net drained weight

Ingredients: Pitted green olives "Bella di Cerignola", water, salt. Acidity regulators: lactic acid, citric acid. Antioxidant: ascorbic acid.

Storage

Store in a cool, dry place away from heat and direct light. Once opened, keep refrigerated, covered by the brine, and consume within 7 days. Despite scrupulous checks, occasional stone fragments may be present.

1. What are Bella di Cerignola pitted green olives?

The Bella di Cerignola is widely regarded as the finest — and largest — table olive in the world. Grown on the fertile plains of Foggia in southern Puglia, it is instantly recognisable for its remarkable size, glossy pale-green skin and exceptionally meaty, juicy flesh. Its flavour is milder and sweeter than most other varieties: mildly herbaceous, clean on the finish and without the sharpness that can make some olives an acquired taste.

This pitted version offers all the same qualities — the same estate-grown fruit, the same traditional Sevillian curing — with the stone removed after fermentation, making them ready to use straight from the jar with no preparation required. The technical term for this calibre is Grade G, meaning between 91 and 120 olives per kilogram: large, consistent and with a pulp yield above 80%.

2. Where do they come from?

Fratepietro's olives are grown on the family's own estate in Cerignola in the province of Foggia — the heartland of the Bella di Cerignola variety and a territory historically known as Puglia Imperiale, named for the land that once fell within sight of Frederick II of Swabia's hunting lodge at Castel del Monte.

Azienda Agricola Andrea Fratepietro has cultivated olive trees on this land since 1890, now in its fifth generation. The family manages every stage of production in-house — from harvest to curing to jarring — and has long committed to minimising the use of sodium hydroxide in the curing process in favour of a more natural, flavour-led result.

3. How do I use pitted green olives?

Removing the stone opens up a much wider range of uses than whole olives allow. Here are some of the best:

• Pasta sauces — roughly chop and add to a puttanesca, a quick tomato sauce or a pasta alla Norma in the final minutes of cooking. No pitting, no preparation — just open and add.
• Pizza and flatbreads — slice or leave whole and press into pizza dough or focaccia before baking. The mild, buttery flavour of the Bella di Cerignola won't overpower a delicate white pizza base.
• Salads and grain bowls — toss with roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, farro or couscous and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for an instant Southern Italian-inspired bowl.
• Stuffed and baked dishes — fill with cream cheese, goat's cheese or a herb-and-breadcrumb mixture and serve as an elegant canapé or starter, or bake into a savoury tart.
• Braised meats and fish — add directly to slow-cooked chicken, rabbit or white fish in the final 15–20 minutes of cooking. They absorb the pan juices beautifully without falling apart.
• Aperitivo and sharing boards — serve straight from the jar, lightly drained and drizzled with olive oil, alongside cured meats, aged Pecorino or Parmigiano and warm bread.
• Tapenade and dips — blend with capers, a little garlic, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil for a quick, stone-free tapenade with considerably less effort than pitting by hand.

Explore more from our Italian Fine Foods Collection.

Explore more from our Fratepietro Collection. Add an award-winning Italian olive oil or balsamic vinegar.