Arbequina olive oil refers to the extra virgin olive oil of the Arbequina variety. Likewise, the arbequina variety is also known as “Blancal”. Its name has been taken from its area of origin, Alberca, a village located in the province of Lérida, northern Spain.
This variety is predominant throughout northern Catalonia and the community of Aragon. Due to its great demand, we find arbequina oil in almost all Spanish producing provinces.
The characteristics of this variety are as follows:
The arbequino olive tree has medium vigour, very early with little greenness and high productivity. It is therefore ideal for the development of high-density olive groves. In addition, its ripening is early, with flexible branches, small fruit size with some difficulty for detachment.
Likewise, this variety can withstand the cold quite well and the drought somewhat badly. For this reason, in the south of Spain, this variety is usually found in irrigation systems.
Due to its commercial success, it is very frequent to find the arbequino in very many plantations all over Spain.
The extra virgin olive oil that comes from the arbequino stands out for its powerful fragrance, little bitterness and spiciness. In tasting, you can also appreciate its great fruity with hints of apple, sweet almond and freshly cut grass. It is therefore one of the most aromatic olive oils of all. That’s why it’s in such high demand.
Its intrinsic composition, arbequina oil has a medium-low content of oleic fatty acids, high in palmitic and unsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, it has a low average stability.
For this reason, we recommend that whenever we buy this variety is of the year, as this may have lost quite a lot of flavor and properties.
Video: Arbequina variety
Currently, the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and Navarre are the areas of Spain where this arbequina oil is most recognized. However, this variety is produced in almost all the provinces of Spain.
This variety is in great demand, being found in all the provinces. Among all the production areas, mills and cooperatives, we have selected the following:
The oil mill of Castillo de Canena is located on the slopes of Sierra Magina. This brand produces arbequina oil of early harvest, family reserve, a selection of its best Arbequina, and also Arbequina in biodynamic culture. Likewise, Castillo de Canena’s brand is one of the best known and recognized nationally and internationally.
Likewise, the Castillo de Canena oil mill has been and continues to be the most innovative almzara with the greatest international tradition in Spain, highlighting the España brand and demonstrating that the best oils are produced in Spain, surpassing without any problem the productions of Italy and other producing countries.
The Martín de Prado oil mill located in Trujillo in Extremadura also produces this arbequina oil. The Martín de Prado mill is a very modern almzara because it was built only a few years ago. In addition, it has known how to produce oils with great worldwide recognition in just a few years.
The Bailén Gold Mill, as its name suggests, is located in Bailen, on the slopes of the Despeñaperros. The arbequina oil is one of the varieties that grind, next to the picual. All its brands have national and international recognition. At the moment it has also taken out two more varieties, the frantoio and hojiblanca.
Oil mill located in the desert of Tabernas in Almeria also produces arbequina oil, along with other varieties. Its oils are winners of the most demanding national and international contests. Their olive oils that we will find in the best kitchens of the most prestigious cooks and they are ombrados in the most prestigious magazines of their sector.
If you want other brands or you are an oil producer and want to sell it here, you can contact us.
Ideal for those looking for oils with little itching and bitterness, with very fruity aromas. Also, for those who want the oil does not mark very deeply the flavor of their dishes.
The great chefs show us that these olive oils of this variety are perfect for mild flavour dressings such as salads. It is also widely used to give a touch to white fish and cooked vegetables. Another use is in pastries and mayonnaises, because it gives them a very special and delicious touch.
Finally, this extra virgin olive oil can also be used for frying, but we can give it fewer uses, because its fatty acid composition is richer than polyunsaturated. For this reason, we should not reuse it as many times as the extra virgin olive oil of the picual or cornicabra variety.
If you want more information, you can also visit the magazine specialized in extra virgin olive oil Mercacei.
The olive oil of the arbequina variety is found in many places. Among them, we have the following:
For our part, all the oils we sell in our shop are of the highest quality. To do this, we visit the oil mills and cooperatives to make sure that what we sell is real extra virgin olive oil.
