About the extra virgin olive oil
Get to know Jaen and the Sierra de Segura
The Andalusian province of Jaén is known both in Spain and abroad for its many olive trees.
For as long as I can remember, you can see olive trees as far as the eye can see in long well-organized rows of olive trees.
No less than 25% of all Spanish olive oil comes from the province of Jaén, making it one of the largest areas in the world where olive oil is produced.
The Picual olive is the most cultivated olive variety in the province of Jaén.
In the east of Jaén is the mountainous region of "Sierra de Segura"; this is my father's native region and where a large part of my family still lives.
The special thing about this area is that it is much more mountainous, compared to other olive areas in Jaén and the rest of Spain. The more difficult surface makes the olive harvest more difficult and more labour-intensive, so that more attention is paid to the quality of the olives during growth and harvest.
Olive oil from this region has a Dominacion de Origen, to guarantee the origin of this oil. This also means that no olive oil from any other area is mixed.
Picual olive and quality
The extra virgin (organic) olive oil from the Sierra de Segura is made from the Picual olive.
The organic Picual olive is exactly the same olive, only the organic variety is grown without artificial fertilizers or chemical synthetic pesticides and the farming, harvesting, pressing and bottling must meet strict conditions in order to be certified organic.
The Verde Segura and Saqura are both also made from the Picual olive. These were picked early in the harvest season when the olive is still young and green. This ensures a very refined and balanced green olive oil.
The Picual olive is one of the most cultivated olive varieties in Spain. The Picual olive naturally has a lot of antioxidants (polyphenols). Olive oil from the Picual olive is therefore highly resistant to oxidation and remains stable when cooking with this oil at higher temperatures.
Due to the large amount of antioxidants, the taste of this olive oil is slightly bitter in the throat, which is characteristic of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
The olive oils I offer are extra virgin.
This means that this olive oil is from the first cold pressing, has no additives and has a maximum acidity of 0.8. Due to the cold extraction, vitamins and minerals remain in the oil, they are not affected during the pressing.
The acidity does not say anything about the taste of the olive oil; the acidity is the result of the speed with which the farmer pressed his olives after harvesting. The shorter after the harvest the oil is pressed from the freshly picked olives, the lower the acidity will be as a reward for the hard work.
The Oro de Genave, Saqura and Verde Segura have an acidity of 0.2% or less. The Senorio has an acidity of 0.3% or less.
Why is the early harvest olive oil more expensive than the regular harvest?
I am often asked why the Verde Segura , Saqura and Arte Oleum are traditional olive oils like the Oro de Genave . I would like to answer this question.
These olive oils are from an early harvest that runs from mid-October to November. The olives are not yet fully grown, not yet ripe and still green in color. I compare that to tomatoes; When tomatoes are not yet ripe, they are green in color. As the tomatoes ripen they get their red color.
With olive oil, the result is that the olives have even higher amounts of antioxidants and polyphenols and a nice fresh taste.
The downside is that because they are not yet fully grown; twice as many olives are needed to make olive oil. For example, for early harvest olive oils, no less than 8 to 10 kilos of olives are needed to produce 1 liter of olive oil. This obviously makes the price of this olive oil more expensive than traditional olive oil.
Is olive oil good for your health?
A few years ago, scientists discovered that olive oil contains a number of ingredients that are beneficial to health when consumed in a healthy lifestyle. This has been recognized by the European Union, which means that these health effects may be mentioned when there are health claims about olive oil for the benefit of consumer knowledge.
The European Union recognizes the following health effects:
1. Replacing saturated fats in the diet has been shown to lower blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease. Olive oil consists of 70 percent both oleic acid and linoleic acid, both of which are unsaturated fats. Because this is more than 20% of the energy value of the product, the legal conditions are met to be allowed to use this health claim. However, we should remember that coronary heart disease has multiple risk factors and changing any one of these factors may or may not have a beneficial effect.
Sources:
• https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R122
• https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2168
2. The replacement of saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels. Oleic acid is an unsaturated fat.
Sources:
• https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R043
• https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2043
3. Polyphenols from olive oil contribute to the protection of blood fats against oxidative stress
Sources:
• https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R043
• https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1816
4. Olive oil is a source of Vitamin E. Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells against oxidative stress
Sources:
• https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R043
• https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1816