First of all, El Cortijuelo San Benito in Las Rozas de Madrid we offer you our own production of extra virgin olive oil from Jaén. We also offer extra virgin olive oils from other olive mills and cooperatives in Spain. All the oils you will find below have passed our most exhaustive criteria. In order to do so, we have visited the production sites, their packing rooms and met many of their farmers.
Arbequina eco extra virgin olive oil Alhema de Queilles 500 ml9.50 €Organic extra virgin olive oil Cold extraction Characteristics: Olive oil bottled in a dark glass bottle with a metal stopper. Aroma Alhema de Queilles extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety has a very fruity aroma with intense aromas of green grass, apple, kiwi and lemon. In tasting, it has flavors of rosemary, walnuts […]
Arbequina Martin Prado 500 ml10.90 €Arbequina extra virgin olive oil Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark Doric bottle with a metallic stopper. Aroma The extra virgin olive oil of the arbequina variety of Martin de Prado is a completely harmonious and balanced oil. It stands out for its fragrance and taste of fresh grass and apple with […]
Arbequina Olive Oil Casas de Hualdo 500 ml8.50 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Cornicabra variety Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark, designer bottle with a metal cap. Aroma The Casas de Hualdo extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety is a sweet and balanced oil. On the palate it is very fruity with no bitterness and itching and […]
Arbequina olive oil Castillo de Canena 500 ml14.50 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety Family Reserve Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark designer glass bottle Cold extraction Aroma The extra virgin olive oil from Castillo de Canena Family Reserve of the Arbequina variety has a bright green, luminous colour. On the palate it is possible to appreciate an […]
Arbequina olive oil Oro Bailen 500 ml10.50 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark designer glass bottle Aroma Oro Bailen Reserva Familiar extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety has a bright green, luminous colour. On the palate it is possible to appreciate an intense fruitiness of fresh olives, with enormous […]
Arbequina olive oil Oro de Bailen 2.5 l30.50 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety of Oro Bailen Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a can Aroma Oro Bailen Reserva Familiar extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety has a bright green, luminous colour. On the palate it is possible to appreciate an intense fruitiness of fresh olives, with enormous […]
Arbequina Olive Oil Torre de Porcuna 5 l35.00 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a can Aroma Torre de Porcuna extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety is a soft, balanced and very fruity oil. In the mouth it is characterized by its great intensity with marked touches of olive, green grass, apple […]
Arbequina Olive Oil Torre de Porcuna 500 ml6.50 €Extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark Doric bottle with a metal cap. Aroma Torre de Porcuna extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety is a soft, balanced and very fruity oil. In the mouth it is characterized by its great intensity with marked […]
Blend Primicia Martin Prado 500 ml19.90 €Extra virgin olive oil blend Mixture of its four varieties: arbequima, cobrançosa, manzanilla and picual, with different proportions each year. Characteristics: Extra virgin olive oil bottled in a dark Doric bottle with a metallic stopper. Aroma The extra virgin olive oil blend of its four varieties is a completely harmonious and balanced oil, an explosion […]
Spain is the largest producer of olive oil, and within Spain is Jaen as the region with the highest concentration of olive groves in the world. From north to south and east to west in the Iberian Peninsula olive oil is produced, with the only exception of the Cantabrian region.
Furthermore, from the Cortijuelo de San Benito we want to spread the culture and knowledge of this magnificent and typical Spanish product; its places of production, the cooperatives and mills where the best olive oils are produced, its people and methods of extraction and work.
The olive tree:
The olive tree (olea europeae) is the characteristic tree of the Mediterranean. A tree present in our history and religion. A tree that relates to beauty, majesty and wisdom.
In addition, since the first olive trees arrived in the Iberian Peninsula, olive oil consumption has been expanding. It is now part of a culture. A culture and way of life that has today is called the “Mediterranean diet”, as it occurs in the Mediterranean.
Finally, we can say that the olive tree (olea europeae) is the characteristic tree of the Mediterranean. A tree present in our history and religion, in addition to being related to beauty, majesty and wisdom.
What is extra vrigin Olive oil?
First of all, Extra virgin olive oil is a vegetable fat extracted from the fruit of the olive tree, called olive or olive. It is extracted only by pressing. Physical method that consists only of squeezing the olive and without addiction of any chemical substance. This process is carried out at low temperatures, that is to say, without ever exceeding 30ºC. For this reason it is the highest quality and retains all its beneficial components.
Likewise, extra virgin olive oil is a true olive juice in its most natural expression. It conserves extraordinary organoleptic virtues. Likewise, the extra virgin olive oil has a magnificent nutritional and medicinal virtues.
Likewise, in Spain we find more than 200 varieties of olive tree. Some are more suitable for making oil and others for table olives. The most suitable for the oil are those that have higher fat yield. The olives with the highest fat yield would be the picual and cornicabra.
Finally, the aromas of the AOVE vary according to the variety of olive, microclimate, soil and moment of milling. Therefore, the world of olive oil is very similar to that of wine culture.
Brief history of the olive tree
The origin of olive oil goes back to the year 4 000 B.C. in the Fertile Crescent that goes from the river Tigris to the river Nile. Thus they demonstrate mills found in this zone. In that one took place a cross that between an African variety and another oriental one. This resulted in a kind of oil-rich nuts, the olive tree.
It is also believed that the first olive groves were planted in the extensive area from Syria to Canaan from 5,000 BC to the beginning of 3,000 BC. From this period onwards, the use of olives for oil production is known. However, in the Upper Palaeolithic (12 000 B.C.) our primitives already used a non-crossed variety that also gave oil.
Later, around 2000 B.C. in Egypt, olive oil was used for cosmetic purposes. Later they began to use it for the feeding, being one of the basic products of their feeding. What’s more, they marketed it and imported it from Crete.
Likewise, the Greeks did not receive olive oil until the middle of the second millennium BC along with the Mycenaean conquest of Crete, according to documents from that time that testify so. Later, with the Hellenic civilization and an advance of civilization, olive oil played an important role in society. From the 7th century B.C. the Greeks expanded the cultivation and production of olive oil to Italy.
Arrival of the olive tree in Spain
The olive tree arrived in Spain thanks to the Phoenicians, a great merchant town, who introduced it around the 11th century BC in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. After a very good adaptation of this tree to our climate, this land would become one of the main areas of olive oil production. Likewise, it was the Phoenicians who also introduced the olive tree in the Maghreb and Sardinia.
With the arrival of the Roman Empire, the coasts of Tripolitania, the Bética province and the French Mediterranean became large olive oil production areas. Likewise, the province of Bética, within the Roman Hispania, would achieve great economic splendour thanks to its oil production.
With the collapse of the Roman Empire and the arrival of invaders from the peoples of Central Europe, there is a recession in the consumption of olive oil, being replaced by animal fats. Also, in the Spain of the Visigoths many olive groves are abandoned.
The new impulse comes with the Muslim conquest. They brought with them new varieties of olive tree, new techniques and an increase in their consumption. The cultivation of olive groves expanded considerably during this period and the first olive groves arrived in Madrid.
Finally, after the expulsion of the Muslims from the peninsula, periods of expansion alternate with abandonment until the eighteenth century, when production begins to stabilize. Finally, in the twentieth century, a new expansion began to the present day.
Olive oil composition
First of all, extra virgin olive oil is made up mainly of triglycerides. Then, there are an infinite number of compounds that provide great benefits to the extra virgin olive oil. Components that we are going to see with greater detail.
The components of the oil can be divided into two fundamental groups:
- Saponifiable fraction: in this group would enter the triglycerides that constitute between 98 and 99% of the total oil and a very small portion of fatty acids.
- Unsaponifiable fraction:Here would enter all the minor components that constitute about 1.5 and 0.5 % of the total olive oil. Despite being a very low fraction, they are of great importance. These compounds give the oil great stability, increasing its life, flavour, aroma and nutritional properties.
Fatty acids:
The composition of fatty acids in each extra virgin olive oil varies depending on:
- soil conditions
- climatology
- variety of olive tree.
However, the oleic fatty acid is found in majority proportions in all of them. Oleic fatty acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid.
Triglycerides:
Triglycerides form the majority of the saponifiable fraction and give it the physical constitution of the oil.
Triglycerides are linked esters of glycerin, giving rise to glycerides (mono-, di- and triglycerides) and phosphatides. Esters can also be found in fatty alcohols with a linear or terpenic structure (waxes).
Minor components:
These fraction components do not constitute between 1.5 and 0.5 % of the total extra virgin olive oil. Components with a complex and unique nature of olive oil with extraordinary organoleptic and nutritional properties.
Some of them are only found in extra virgin olive oils, and are more abundant the fresher the oil and the higher the quality. Refining processes or oxidation itself eliminate or reduce the content of these components.
Among the minor components of major importance, we highlight:
- Hydrocarbons:
They constitute between 30 and 50 % of the unsaponifiable fraction. The two main hydrocarbons found in olive oil are squalene and α-carotene. Squalene acts as a biochemical precursor in sterol lip synthesis. To a lesser extent we find β-carotene, which acts as a precursor of vitamin A.
- Triterpene alcohols:
The main triterpenic alcohols found in olive oil are erythrodiol and uvaol. These compounds are very important for detecting oil fraud by adding pomace oils to the oil.
Another important alcohol is cycloartenol, very interesting from a nutritional point of view to help us lower our cholesterol level.
- Esterols:
They are components that allow to demonstrate the authenticity of an extra virgin olive oil. The sterol β-sitosterol usually constitutes more than 90% of the total sterols and the Δ7 -sup>-estigmastenol is usually less than 0.5% of the total sterols.
The compound β-sitosterol is a very beneficial component for the body by blocking the body’s absorption of cholesterol, thus helping us to control our blood cholesterol levels.
More minor components
- Tocopherols:
The following tocopherols stand out: α-tocopherol or vitamin E, compounds very interesting for their great antioxidant power, reducing the risk of suffering degenerative and cardiovascular diseases.
- Polyphenols:
They are compounds of a very complicated chemical nature, soluble in aqueous media that provide great stability to the oil, aroma, flavour and colour.
Among them we can highlight the tyrosol and the hydroxytyrosol from the hydrolysis of the oleoeurpein, a typical compound of the olive and that gives it its typical bitterness. In the oil we also have benzoic acid and cinnamic acid, a compound that gives a ripe fruit flavour to the oils.
- Volatile and aromatic compounds:>
They are compounds of very different nature that give olive oil its fragrance and flavour. Compounds such as: hydrocarbons, phenols, ketones, esters, terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes…. Their quantity and composition vary in each oil according to its freshness and quality, variety and the soil and climate conditions of the olive tree.
- Pigments:
Compounds that give color to the oil, among them we find: chlorophylls, pheophytes and carotenoids.
Main properties of extra virgin olive oil
The countries of the Mediterranean basin have maintained common patterns in their eating habits. These patterns have become popular under the name of Mediterranean diet. A diet based on three fundamental Mediterranean crops: wheat, olive and life, which has been taking shape in the footsteps of different civilisations over hundreds of centuries.
The Mediterranean diet consists fundamentally of the abundant consumption of fruits, vegetables, cereals and legumes with a main source of fat. A fat that must be consumed every day in raw, fried or other cooked form. A moderate consumption of dairy products, fish, eggs and poultry is also recommended.
Also, the Mediterranean diet is characterized by low consumption of processed foods and saturated fats. It is also high in nutrient-rich products (fibre, carbohydrates, monounsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals). The Mediterranean diet is therefore a balanced and healthy diet. Together with moderate physical exercise, this greatly reduces the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, such as cancer and other degenerative diseases.
Beneficial components of extra virgin olive oil
The benefits of any food always depend on its nutrient content and the absence of undesirable compounds. The extra virgin olive oil is a magnificent food that provides us with energy and a great amount of nutrients.
The extra virgin olive oil as a lipid is essential for the proper functioning of our body, because lipids act in the synthesis of steroid hormones, such as: glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids, sex hormones, vitamins, bile acids, protaglandins and thromboxanes, among the most prominent.
In addition, olive oil contains two types of fatty acids that are necessary for the growth of children, , the skin, the reproductive system and the metabolism in general and cannot be synthesized by the same organism, we speak of linoleic and linolenic fats. The oil as grease acts as a transport vehicle for soluble vitamins (A. D. E and K).
- Fatty acids:
Olive oil is mainly made up of monounsaturated fatty acids (the oleic acid) and contains moderate amounts of linoleic and linolenic acids, all of which are essential for our health.
Oleic acid brings great benefits to our health, which is part of our cell membranes, favouring their permeability and fluidity. This allows a better performance of vital functions by reducing the deterioration and aging of our body.
Minor components:
- Tocopherols: Tocopherols such as α-tecoferol is a precursor of vitamin E, a great antioxidant very important to stop cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and degenerative diseases.
Phenols: Other great antioxidants, which keep olive oil in perfect condition over time and against heating processes such as frying. There are several types of phenols: tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and lignans, all of them with great anti-cancer properties.
- Esterols: Among the most important in olive oil we have the βsitosterol that helps to lower the LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad and raise the good, HDL and also reduces the risk of suffering different types of cancer.
- Hydrocarbons: Among them is squalene, precursor of the synthesis of cholesterol and steroid hormones, very important for the proper functioning of our body. Recent research shows that this hydrocarbon has antioxidant properties, acting effectively against some types of cancer.
In this group we also have beta-carotene, a precursor compound of vitamin A that gives the oil its yellow colour.
- Triterpenes: Among the most important tripertenes in olive oil are oleanolic and masilinic acid and the alcohols erythrodiol and uvaol.
Oleanolic acid and erythrodiol alcohol have anti-inflammatory properties. Masilinic fatty acid has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
In short, we can say that extra virgin olive oil brings great benefits to our health in the field of cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, oxidation and fight against many types of cancer.
The best extra virgin olive oils in Spain: Jaén, Córdoba
As we have already indicated, Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world, on average it produces 50% of the total. In recent decades, Spain has gone from producing only a volume of olive oil to taking care of and taking full care of the sector by producing the best extra virgin olive oils in the world.
The provinces of Jaén and Córdoba are among the areas with the highest Spanish olive oil production. As the largest producers we find here a large quantity of very select oils: Oro Bailen. Castillo de Canena, Cortijo la Torre, El Empiedro, knolive and many more.
We can also name other quality oils such as Casas de Hualdo, Fuenroble, Oro del Desierto, Segorbe Nostrum, Vieiru.
Organic or conventional extra virgin olive oil
With the increase in the awareness of caring for the environment and our health, organic products have emerged, including extra virgin olive oil.
Organic production seeks to respect the environment as much as possible by not using chemicals that can damage the wild flora and fauna. Another of the aspects that organic production allows is to make the consumer aware of all the processes and applications that are given to the field.
However, both organic and conventional extra virgin olive oils have passed rigorous quality controls and in none of them will we find any trace of chemistry.
At Cortijuelo de San Benito we believe that the freshness and good conservation of extra virgin olive oil is more important than whether it is organic or not.
Finally, Where to buy extra virgin olive oil?
Extra virgin olive oil can be purchased in almost any grocery store. A staple of the Mediterranean diet. On the other hand, to find a good extra virgin olive oil of year, to good price and with advice is not so easy.
Therefore, if you want good advice and a good olive oil, we always recommend buying it in a specialist shop. In these shops they can advise you well and thus buy the olive oil that best suits their tastes, and at a good price quality.
Why not buy a cheap oil
First of all, there is the well-known saying “cheap is expensive”. If you think that you have found a bargain with an olive oil, that is, that you have bought a good oil at a very good price. So I have to tell you that you are very confused. Because extra virgin olive oils have different qualities. Time and bad conservation are factors that deteriorate the oil. A cheap olive oil is synonymous with low quality.
On the other hand, in Cortijuelo San Benito we have studied, visited and tasted the oils of all our mills and cooperatives. Our aim is to sell extra virgin olive oil of extreme quality. We know that we can find cheaper oils, but this is not our goal.
Therefore, we know and could sell cheaper oils, but that is not our goal. In our shop we only sell quality products at the lowest possible price.
Sources:
The english newspaper BBC
