OLIVE OIL…El ORO
LIQUIDO
To give you an idea of the vast selection of quality olive
oils, Spain has 5.7 million acres of olive groves producing
250 different varieties and some of its trees are as old as
1,000 years. Thanks to past inhabitants such as the
Phoenicians, Romans and Muslims we can savor this “oro
liquido”.
To understand olive oil and appreciate its subtle
differences in color, aromas, and tastes one can associate
an olive oils “terroir” to that of a wine with a certain “terroir”.
It’s the combination of the DO’s climate and soil where the
olive tree of a specific variety grows that will produce an
olive oil with distinct characteristics. You will discover
when you taste an olive oil made of Arbequina in Les
Garrigues will be completely different from Picudo grown in
Jaén.
How to properly savor an olive oil and discover those subtle
differences? Try doing the following as if you were going to
taste a wine, as the experts at the Spanish government
institution “Olive Oil from Spain” suggest:
Color: Examine the color. The two most important
factors influencing the color of the finished oil are the
variety of olive and its maturity as the time of harvest.
Early picked olives yield darker, greener oils, while riper
olives produce oils that are lighter and more yellow in
color.
Aroma: With a few thoughtful sniffs, take in the
fragrance. With the best oils you should be able to detect
the fresh, fruity, aroma of the olive.
Taste: Finally, taste the oil either by dipping a
piece of white bread into the glass, or by drawing a
teaspoon of oil quickly into the mouth, mixing it with air
to register the sensation of all the nuances of flavor.
Between sips, cleanse the palate with a piece of crisp
apple, fresh sliced fennel or unflavored sparkling water.
Olive
Oil Varieties
Here are a few of the most popular varieties found in the US
with suggestions for which dishes the olive oil can be
paired.
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Arbequina
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| This variety was
brought to Spain from Palestine by the Knights
Templar. A small olive, it gives subtle oils varying
from delicate gold to smoky green, depending on the
groves’ altitude and time of harvesting.
Aroma: Very aromatic
and fruity, with banana and fig leaf aroma, over a
green olive base smell.
Taste: Soft,
fluid and elegant with a slight peppery taste, and an
interesting sweet flavor of green grass, apple and
nuts.
Pairing Suggestions:
Ideal for green leaf salads, vegetables soups
(gazpacho), grilled vegetables, rice dishes, anchovies
and in general with acidic fruits like pineapple. |
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Hojiblanca
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| A rounded olive, which throws up a
multitude of flavors and colors, it contributes green
flavor notes such as hints of avocado in some regions
and in other an assertive golden color in others.
Aroma: Intense
aromas with slight vegetable and herbaceous smells.
Taste: Very
soft with a slight sweet scent of green wood and green
fruit finish.
Pairing Suggestions:
Ideal for mixed salads, tomatoes,
blue fish (tuna, sardines, etc.) meats and other full
flavored dishes. |
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Picudo |
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| Considered a native of Cordoba
province, known elsewhere as the Carrasqueña, this
round, fleshy fruit predominates in Priego de
Cordoba’s oils and contributes to Baena’s, lending
them satisfyingly rounded, complex, balanced flavors
and aromas. Golden, but full of green flavor
overtones, it is used for early-or-late season oils.
Aroma: Strong
presence of ripe fruit and almonds.
Taste: Soft and
sweet with notable density on palate with hints of
spice and a buttery finish.
Pairing Suggestions:
Ideal for carpaccios, pasta, white
fish and mild blue fish, and in general sauces with
fish. |
Of
the 250 registered olive varieties, here’s a list of some
of the most common ones found in Spain.
Cornicabra – Literally
means goat’s horn, after its pointed shape. This
outstanding variety is aromatically fruity and
exceptionally stable. It originated in the Montes de
Toledo, but has now spread throughout Castile – La Mancha
to becomes Spain’s second most widely planted variety
after Picual.
Empeltre – A small, skinny
olive, excellent eaten salted and dried, this variety
makes up to 85% of the groves in Bajo Aragón, but is also
planted in Catalonia, Navarra, La Rioja and the Valencian
region. It is mild and straw-gold, with sweet apple
overtones.
Farga – One of the oldest Spanish varieties, with
trees that are over a thousand years old today, mainly
growing in Bajo Aragón and other areas along the River
Ebro. It has a very slow ripening cycle and gives
excellent golden oil.
 Lechín
de Sevilla – A robust, sturdy, drought-resistant olive
varieity that gives fully flavored, grassy green to gold
oils. It is the defining olive in the Sierra de Cádiz and
is on of the varieties used in small quantities in Baena’s
coupage oils.
 Lucio
– One of the most characteristic local varieties, it is
blended with Picual to make the Montes de Granada oils.
Early ripening, and resistant to both drought and frost,
it grows in the dry mountain areas and has a green-gold,
lightly fruity character.
 Manzanilla
Cacereña – Traditionally grown in Portugal and western
Spain for table olives and oil, this variety gives golden,
fruity varietal oils from northern Extremadura’s newly
established Gata-Hurdes D.O. They mix tropical fruit hints
with leafy green flavors.
 Picual
– Also known as the Nevadilla, Martena, Lopereña and
Jabata – and a string of other local names-this is the
queen of Spanish varieties, whch gives magnificently
robust, full, big stable oils. It gives the golden-green,
sometimes almost herby D.O. oils from the Sierras de
Segura, Cazorla and Mágina. Their characteristic
bitter-sweet pungency is also a component of oils from
Montes de Granada and Monterrubio, in Extremadura, and a
secondary variety in Baena’s and Priego de Córdoba’s oils.
 Royal
de Cazorla – A hardy rustic variety, well adapted to
poor terrains, it gives wonderful fruity varietal oils in
the Sierra de Cazorla. Early flowering and late ripening,
it is not widely planted at the moment and its oil is
generally blended with Picual.
 Verdial
de Vélez Málaga – This very old variety is native to
Málaga and was widely planted by the Arabs. It gives a
light, golden fruity oil very rich in Vitamin E. Its
traditional growing area is the Axarquia, where it is used
in varietal oils.
Source:
September-December issue of 2001 Spain Gourmetour
Olive
Oil Producing D.O. Regions
What is a D.O.? The “Dominación de Orígen” is much
like an AOC in France for wines produced in a certain
geographic region it is a “seal of approval” for meeting
quality standards for producing olive oil. As Marino Uceda
– agromomist and researcher at the Universidad de Jaén
explains “it is simply a geographic space…one key element
of that is the varieties of plant grown there. Another is
the local ecosystem. The tradition of quality and food
safety are also important. A D.O. label guarantees
all those things.”
Here below you’ll find a list of D.O.s with their
respective Province and corresponding variety of olives
found growing on their rolling hills. The first region to
be awarded D.O. status was Les Garrigues in 1975.
For a geographical reference of where these D.O.s are
located in Spain, click below for map
Map of D.O.
Regions
Cataluña
We have to hand it to the Catalans for being the pioneers
in registering Europe’s first extra-virgin olive oil
denomination. However, quality control and high standards
dates back to the times of the Duke of Medinaceli who
subsidized planting and encouraged new growing techniques
such as careful pruning, hand harvesting, and milling
within a day of picking.
Les Garrigues – Lleida – the first D.O. to register
in Europe.
Verdial
Arbequina
Surriana – Tarragona
Arbequina
Royal
Morrut
Andalucía
With altitudes of 2.624 feet the growing cycle is short
for Spain’s classic olive variety “Picual”, produces lush,
intense green and gold olive oils. Tasting notes would
emphasize bay leaf, celery and grass slipping into its
trademark peppery finish, as Vicky Hayward, an
internationally published author on arts and food, points
out.
Sierra de Segura – Jaén – Andalucías oldest D.O.
which was set up in 1979 and has pioneered large-scale
organic production methods thanks to it 120 strong
growers’ cooperative.
Picual
Sierra de Cazorla – Jaén
Picual
Royal
Sierra Mágina – Jaén
Picual
Baena – Córdoba
Picudo
Picual
Hojiblanca
Priego de Córdoba
Picudo
Picual
Hojiblanca
*Gata – Hurdes – Cáceres
Manzanilla Cacereña
*Montes de Granada - Granada
Picual
**Sierra de Cádiz - Cádiz
Lechin de Sevilla
**Axarquia - Málaga
Verdial
**Antequera and Archidona - Málaga
Hojiblanca
Central Spain
In central Spain’s terroirs, the harsher continental
climate gives oils with wonderful, distinct personalities.
Montes de Toledo – Ciudad Real and Toledo
Picual
Arbequina
Cornicabra
*Bajo Aragón – Teruel and Zaragoza
Empeltre
*D.O. in process as of 2001
** No D.O.
E.U. Descriptions and Definitions of Olive Oils
According to Article 35
So why do I pay more for Extra-Virgin olive oil? Well
technically there is a huge difference between
Extra-Virgin olive oil and regular Olive Oil and is
largely due to the acidity level found per 100 g, its
purity, and of course quality.
Virgin Olive Oil – oils obtained from the fruit of
the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical
means under conditions that do not lead to alteration in
the oil, which have not undergone any treatment other than
washing, decantation, centrifugation or filtration, to the
exclusion of oils obtained using solvents or using
adjuvants having a chemical or biochemical action, or by
re0esterification process and any mixture with lils of
other kinds. Virgin olive oils are exclusively classified
and described below.
1) Virgin Olive Oils range from Extra to Lampante
• Extra-virgin – virgin olive oil having a maximum free
acidity, in terms of oleic acid, of 0.8 per 100 g.
• Virgin olive oil – virgin olive oil having a maximum
free acidity, in terms of oleic acid, of 2 g per 100 g.
• Lampante olive oil – virgin olive oil having a free
acidity, in terms of oleic acid, more than 2 g per 100 g.
2) Refined Olive Oil – olive oil obtained by refining
virgin olive oil, having free acidity content expressed as
oleic acid, of not more than 0.3g per 100 g.
3) Crude Olive-Pomace Oil – oil obtained from olive pomace
by treatment with solvents or by physical means or oil
corresponding to lampante live oil, except for certain
specified characteristics, excluding oil obtained by means
of re-esterilfication and mixtures with other types of
oils.
For more information on Spanish olive oil, visit:
Sources:
Spain Gourmetour Magazine, September-December 2001 Issue,
Vicky Hayward
ICEX, Spanish Institute of International Trade
Valderrama, S.L., Extra Virgin Olive Oils,
www.valderrama.es
Photo credits for images of olive varieties: Isabel
Trujillo and Diego Barranco. Dpto. Agronomía de la
Universidad de Códoba/ICEX
Where to find Spanish Olive Oil in NYC:
- Murray’s Cheese Shoppe, 257 Bleecker Street
- Fairway Market, 2127 Broadway or 2328 12th Avenue
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