Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 100% Empeltre, SalzySalz

Description

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 100% Empeltre, SalzySalz

The origin dates back to 1870 in Agón, a town located at the foot of the Sierra del Moncayo in Aragón, Spain, where the Medina family began to cultivate olive trees, maintaining a family tradition based on love for their land, origins and tradition. Salz Medina, the 4th generation, has created the brand as a tribute to the efforts of his family and his land, maintaining the autochthonous cultivation of the empeltre variety, which allows the natural balance of the land to be maintained. Extra Virgin Olive Oil of superior category, obtained directly from olives and only by mechanical procedures, and early harvest. This oil is classified within the highest category that exists of virgin olive oils, it is an extra virgin olive oil from early collection and cold extraction with a high amount of polyphenols.

Its color is like liquid gold and its flavor contains notes of spiciness due to its early harvest, which means that it contains a higher amount of polyphenols, which in turn are a source of vitamin A and E.

Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance of the skin in normal conditions and to the functioning of the immune system.

Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells against oxidative damage.

Data sheet:

Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100%.

Pairing: At Made in Spain Gourmet we recommend it for salad dressings, grilled vegetables, vegetable creams, fresh cheese, white fish and poultry. It has a high content of POLYPHENOLS and a high percentage of ANTIOXIDANTS.

Producer: SalzySalz,

Origin: Agon (Aragon)

Variety: empeltre

Nutritional Information per 100 g:

• Energy Value - 3700kj / 900 Kcal
• Fat - 100 g
• Of which saturated - 14 g
• Monounsaturated fatty acids – 76 g
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids – 10 g
• Carbohydrates - 0 g
• of which sugars - 0 g
• Proteins - 0 g
• Salt - 0 g
• Vitamin E - 20 mg * (200% RDA)

* Recommended Daily Amount by the EU.

Store in a cool place away from light and heat.

Empeltre variety: native to Aragon

The empeltre variety is the most characteristic olive tree of Aragon, it is a native variety, also called "Aragonese".

Empeltre has been cultivated by Phoenicians and Romans in our territory for centuries, being one of the oldest varieties of olive trees in the world.

Jet black olive of early maturation and medium size.

The benefits of extra virgin olive oil

 Extra virgin oil is the one that is obtained by harvesting the olive just in its color change, when it turns from green to purple. The ideal months for harvesting are November and December. At this time, olives stand out especially for their intense flavor and aroma.

What benefits does it have for health? From a nutritional point of view, it is an excellent oil to contribute to our well-being. Some of its most notorious benefits are:

High antioxidant properties.

High concentration of vitamins, especially A, D and E.

High content of polyphenols, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Good level of oleic acid and monounsaturated fats, which improve the absorption of nutrients, help defenses and lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

Most important varieties of olives in Spain

There are as many varieties of Olive Oils as there are varieties of olive trees and their fruits dedicated to the extraction of oil. Y Spain is the world's leading producer of EVOO

The distinction between "variety" and "quality" in Olive Oils is of great importance: two different species of olive will produce oil of a different variety that, however, can be of the same quality.

In Spain, more than 250 cultivable varieties and different olive trees have been cataloged since the beginning of their cultivation in the Iberian Peninsula. However, not all of these olive varieties are cultivated equally and there are just over 20 that have spread widely. Only four varieties cover 60% of the olive production, and only one of them, the Picual variety, produces practically half of the Spanish oil and almost 100% of the oil in the province of Jaén.

With all this great variety of olive trees it is possible to obtain oils that come from a single variety of olive.

However, there are also oils in which two or more oils (obtained from a single olive variety) have been mixed in specific proportions to complement and shape the sensory characteristics of the resulting oil.

These are some of the best known and most used varieties in Spain:

• Arbequina: The most representative of Catalonia, produces fruity oils, between greenish and yellow, with aromas of apple and fresh almond, soft and sweet. The plant is not very vigorous, with long and slightly branched shoots. The leaf is grooved and widened at the apex, while the fruit is small, oval and almost symmetrical.
• cornicabra: It dominates the entire central zone (Toledo, Ciudad Real and Madrid). Its oils are greenish-yellow to gold in color. Fresh aromas and flavor between sweet, bitter and somewhat spicy. The tree is of medium vigor with medium-length branches and little bud formation. The leaf is long and lanceolate and the fruit is long curved, asymmetrical and with a horn-shaped belly.
• empeltre: Typical olive from Bajo Aragón. Oils with a color between straw yellow and old gold are made with it. It has aromas of fruit, especially apple, and a smooth, sweet flavor. Tree of great vigor with erect branches and broad, somewhat warped leaves. The fruit is asymmetrical and elongated.
• Hojiblanca: Dominant variety in Málaga and Córdoba, with double aptitude for oil and for table. It gives oils of an intense green color, with aromas of ripe fruit and hints of avocado, presenting a pleasant flavor with slight hints of bitterness and spiciness. The vigor of the tree is medium to good with a medium density crown. The leaf is elongated and partially grooved and the fruit is large and oblong.
• Picual: The great predominant variety in Jaén. Its oil has great stability and personality, strength, fruitiness, intense bitterness and clear spicy tones. The vigor of the tree is good, with vigorous crowns and great foliaceous development. The leaf is elongated and the fruit ellipsoidal.
• Weevil: or beaked, also known as carrasqueña de Córdoba. This variety is widespread in the provinces of Córdoba, Granada, Málaga and Jaén. Its oil is delicate against oxidation. You can find light flavors and aromas reminiscent of exotic fruits, as well as apple and almonds.
• forge: Variety native to the south of Tarragona and north of Castellón and something in the province of Teruel. Its trees are very vigorous, open bearing, with straight, slightly pendulous branches. They have a leafy crown, where the fruits are sometimes isolated. These fruits are small to medium in size and hang on a long peduncle. They ripen early and have great resistance to detachment. The fat yield is high (26-28%), with very good quality oils.
• Blanquette: It is grown in Alicante and in the south of Valencia. It produces oils with a leafy green hue and fruity aromas with hints of green tomato. In the mouth it develops spicy and slightly bitter sensations. The tree is of little vigor with short branches, the leaf is short and lanceolate and the fruit is somewhat oval and slightly asymmetrical.
• cacerena: Also called Manzanilla cacereña for its diffusion in the province of Cáceres. It is a variety with double aptitude and highly appreciated for seasoning, both green and black, due to the quality of its pulp. It is a tree of low vigor, with early flowering and maturation. Its leaves are flat and of medium length and the fruits are spherical in shape, although somewhat asymmetrical.
• Verdial of Badajoz: It is present in Las Vegas del Guadiana. It produces oils with aromas of green olives and nuts (almonds). In the mouth it stands out for its sweetness. The tree is resistant to drought and is used as rootstock. The fruit is large and has a double aptitude.
• Lechin of Seville: It is distributed throughout the provinces of Seville and Córdoba, mainly. Its oil is relatively unstable with a medium and balanced aroma and a bitter taste. The tree is vigorous with short branches and a thick crown. The leaf is short and almost flat and the fruit is ellipsoidal and slightly domed on the back.
• Chamomile: It is grown in the province of Seville, mainly in the vicinity of the capital. The tree is not very vigorous and has a sparse crown. The leaves are short and thick and the fruit is oval. It is mainly used as an olive for dressing.
• Gordal: Without a doubt, this is one of the most famous olive varieties in the world. Gordal Sevillana is mainly used to produce table olives that stand out for their large size, which is what sets them apart from all other varieties. It is cultivated mainly in Seville, although it was successfully cultivated in other areas of Spain. It is generally not used to produce olive oil due to its low fat yield.

Collection and Transport

From the olive tree to our tables the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, follow the following steps for its preparation, the collection and transport of olives:

La harvest of olives intended for grinding. The olive harvest usually begins in the months of November and December, normally concluding in the months of January and February. It is necessary to collect the olives as they reach maturity and not later because otherwise the fruit can be crushed and the quality of the oil would decrease. Although it should also be noted that, in order to obtain a higher quality oil, an earlier harvest is increasingly being opted for.

There are different ways to collect the olive avoiding damage as this would affect the quality of the oil:

• Milking: picked by hand, one by one. Normally this collection mode is used to collect table olives.
• shaken: the trunk or branches of the olive tree are shaken so that the fruit can be detached. This method is done mechanically, either through tractor-mounted vibrators or other means, or other small machines. It is also important to note that, although in recent years this method has helped harvest the olives more easily and quickly, it can also damage the olive tree.
• vareus: the most important and traditional. It consists of gently hitting the branches of the olive tree so that the already ripe olives fall. In the vareo, the olive tree is hit with a rod of about four meters, laterally and from top to bottom. In the past, the beating of the olive tree was carried out with wooden sticks, these were already replaced by the current polyester sticks. Also in this mode of collection, a net or "shawl" under the olive cup so that the olives fall into it and when collecting them they do not mix with stones and soil from the ground, thus obtaining the olive directly from the tree and therefore of quality.

El Transport The olive must be done immediately after harvesting, since the fruits must be processed within a maximum period of 24 hours so that they retain all their properties and a higher quality oil is obtained. Currently, for the transport of olives, many of the mills offer the possibility for farmers to transport the olives directly from the olive tree, that is, olives that have not fallen to the ground and have not been mixed with earth and stones, in order to In this way, obtain the desired quality oil. The traditional facilities where olive oil is extracted are called mills, a name from Arabic al-mas'sara, meaning extract o print. Piling the olives at height should be avoided to avoid heating and fermentation.

Selection and Washing

Once the olive has arrived at the mill, the next step is to prepare the fruit to reach the extraction of the fruit, through the selection and washing of the olive.

The selection

Before starting to handle the olives, they are distributed according to their characteristics to make extra virgin olive oil. A good oil is only obtained from healthy, ripe and whole olives.

THE WASHING

Once the olives on the lines or conveyor belts cross a ventilation zone that by means of a current of air separates the leaves and branches that they may have.

They are then washed with drinking water to remove possible impurities, mud or stones.

Extraction

GRINDING consists of crushing and breaking the whole olive (without pitting) in order to facilitate the removal and separation of the oil it contains. Currently, metal grinders or grinders are used that can be in the form of a toothed wheel or a hammer.

Previously, a stone mill was used for grinding.

The shake

The olive mass or paste obtained in the mill is beaten in order to favor the output of the oil. The oil droplets agglutinate to form a larger phase that is more easily separable from the aqueous phase (water from the olive) and from the solid phase or pomace (skin, pulp and broken pits).

The beating temperature must not exceed 30ºC so that the aromatic compounds are not lost and the oxidation processes are not accelerated.

Its main advantage was that it crushed the olives without causing emulsions or heating, eliminating the risk of metal contamination, but it was a slow and expensive method.

THE SPIN

To completely separate the oil from the alpechín (water) and the pomace, the olive paste is placed in a vacuum centrifuge. By rotating the paste at high speed, the separation is achieved, due to the difference in its density, of the pomace, the water and the oil.

Conservation

Once the oil has been obtained, it is essential to preserve it in optimal conditions, so that it reaches the consumer with all its qualities. The tank material must be inert (vitreous tile, stainless steel, polyester-fiberglass, etc.). In no case iron or copper, as they favor oxidation.

The ideal temperature is between 15 and 18 ºC to allow the oils to mature without favoring oxidation.