Posted on July 19, 2010 - by napavalleyolivegrowers

Spanish Olives

The wide variety of microclimates throughout Spain allows for the country to produce an extensive range of olive oils.  “For example, the Picual variety of olive, characteristic of the mountainous regions of Granada, produces oils with body, sweet with a light bitter flavor, while the Hojiblanca variety of olives from Málaga produces sweeter oils, with a light spicy flavor.”

The four main growing regions in Spain include: Andalucia, Castilla, Extremadura, and Catalonia.  The Andalucia area is the largest oil-producing region, creating approximately 75% of Spain’s olive oil.  It is located in southern most part of Spain, giving the region a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters.  The olives typical to the region include: Picual, Hojiblanca, Lechin, Verdial and Picudo.  Picual is the most popular variety, representing 50% of Spain’s total crop.  The picual olive has become increasingly popular because it produces a fairly stable, good quality oil that doesn’t have a high likelihood of becoming rancid.

The Castilla- La Mancha region of Spain is located in the middle of the peninsula.  The climate in this area is “markedly continental, with this characteristic decreasing toward the west and as the altitude increases above 1,000 meters.  Rainfall is not abundant, especially in the interior of the sub plateau, although the influence of the Atlantic in the western regions causes an increase in rainfall.”  This region produces about 14% of the olive oil from Spain using the Cornicabra olive varietal.

The southeastern part of Spain contains a region called Extremadura, where 6% of Spain’s olive oil is produced.  In this region, the climate is continental as well, with hot summers, warm winters and scarce rainfall.  The olives that thrive in this area for the production of oil are Cornicabra, Carrasquena and Morisca.

Catalonia is the final large region of Spain, producing about 4% of the oil in Spain.  It is in the northeast corner of the peninsula, giving the region a climate common to a Mediterranean region.  The olives grown in this area are Farga, Empeltre and Arbequina.

In general, oils produced with Spanish olives are very smooth and lack the peppery kick that Italian oils tend to have.  While Spanish oils are buttery, they still maintain hints of tropical fruits (i.e. bananas and pears).  Due to the exquisite flavor that Spanish olive produce, Spanish olive trees have been sought after within the country and internationally for many years.

Source & photo credit: http://www.oliveoilfromspain.com/OOFS/everything/regions.asp