Spain alone there are 260 olive tree cultivars. By way of example, the characteristics of some of the main varieties are described below:

PICUAL

General data and areas.

This is the most important variety in the world, representing 50% of Spain's olives and trees and, therefore, approximately 20% world-wide. Its geographic location is clearly linked to Andalusia, the main producing region in the world, and specifically to the provinces of Jaen, Cordoba and Granada. This cultivar is given different names depending on the producing area, but its main name, Picual (from the Spanish root "pico", meaning "peak"), comes from the shape of the drupe, as it is like a swollen teat ending in a point.

The oil.

From a physical-chemical point of view, it is excellent due to its fatty acid composition and the number of natural antioxidants it contains. Its high content of monounsaturated oleic acid, important to avoid cardiovascular diseases, and its low content of linoleic acid (an essential acid for the human diet, but if there are excessive quantities, the oil starts to oxidise and free radicals, which are harmful for certain organs in the human body, are formed) as well as its high content of polyphenols, make it the most stable oil in the world, with a long shelf life and it performs excellently when heated for cooking.

From an organoleptic point of view, we have to differentiate between the plains and the mountains, as their organoleptic profiles are very different. Oils from the plains have great body, are normally bitter, with a certain flavour of wood. Oils from the mountains are usually sweeter, although they have a "fresh" and pleasant flavour.


CORNICABRA

General data and areas.

This cultivar is the second in importance in the number of cultivated hectares, but the third in production. It originated in Mora de Toledo, and its cultivation area covers the provinces of Toledo and Ciudad Real in the Community of Castilla la Mancha. Its name ("one-horned goat") comes from the characteristic horn-shape of its fruit.

The oil.

It is golden yellow with touches of light green indicating its fruitiness. When it is obtained from riper olives, at the end of the harvest, there are normally different flavours and textures that remind us of exotic fruit, like avocados. Cornicabra oils are fruity and have a noticeable balance between sweet at first, the bitterness of green leaves and a medium-intense peppery flavour. Their texture is smooth and velvety. They are stable oils because of their high content in monounsaturated fatty acids. The balanced composition of essential fatty acids, high content in oleic acid and minor components, which produce excellent aromas and flavours, make it especially appropriate for dietary purposes.

HOJIBLANCA

General data and areas.

The name (from the Spanish for "hoja", leaf, and "blanca", white) comes from the colour of the leaf's back side, making the tree look bright, and, from a distance, silver. It is found in Andalusia, to be precise in the east of the province of Seville, the south of Cordoba and all of the north of the province of Malaga. It accounts for about 16% of the Andalusian olive groves. It is used both for black Californian style table olives, due to the firm texture of its flesh, and for oil production.

The oil.

From a physical-chemical point of view, it has a very balanced composition of fatty acids, with saturated acids that are relatively lower than in the rest of the oils of other varieties. Its composition is ideal for dietary purposes. As its stability is not very high and it oxidises easily, this oil should be kept out of the light and stored without excessive oxygenation.

From an organoleptic point of view, it has an enormous range of flavours, but the most common are sweet at the beginning of the tasting, with a fresh grassy fruity aroma, a slightly bitter flavour of green fruit and other fruits that sometimes recall a fruit cocktail, slightly peppery in the throat and a final almondy aftertaste.

ARBEQUINA

General data and areas.

This is one of the best known Spanish cultivars. Although it has been planted in the provinces of Saragossa and Huesca in the community of Aragon, it originated in the locality of Arbeca (Lerida), where the name comes from, and it is widespread in the provinces of Tarragona and Lerida, both in the community of Catalonia. The quality of the oil has led these two producing areas to being recognised with two Designations of Origin: Siurana and Les Garrigues respectively. The tree is found in olive groves or mixed with other crops, mainly vines, and sometimes grows on the edges of plots.


The oil.

These oils have an exquisite flavour with traces of tomatoes and vegetable gardens, and the aroma reminds us of fresh artichokes. They are also fruity with a certain exotic aroma. A fresh apple smell, accompanied by a certain mildness and sweetness, identifies the oils, with a final aftertaste of green almonds. They are also very fresh and young oils which, because of their composition, are a little more delicate than other varieties as far as oxidation is concerned, which is why they must be kept in the dark at a low temperature to guarantee protecting them for a longer period of time. These oils have been appreciated for their quality for centuries, even though their production usually fluctuates greatly due to climatic conditions. Virgin olive oils of the arbequina cultivar are dense and pour well and vary greatly from one area to another, as well as within the same area, in successive years. When harvesting is started, the olives are very green and this characteristic is reflected in the organoleptic properties of the oils. The olives are not normally left to become completely ripe. To describe the average characteristics of these oils, we could say that they are fruity, slightly green and more or less bitter, peppery and sweet. They are, therefore, very balanced oils, with greener flavours (leaf), bitter and peppery at the beginning of the harvesting season, and sweeter at the end. We should also mention the almondy (green almond) aroma and flavour and the way they pour smoothly, which is a very pleasant sensation when tasting them.

LECHIN OF SEVILLE

General data and areas.

This variety is distributed throughout the provinces of Seville, Cordoba, Cadiz, Malaga and Huelva. Its name (from the Spanish root "leche" meaning "milk") comes from the whitish colour of its pulp and its oily liquid (a mixture of vegetable water and oil).

The oil.

From a physical-chemical point of view, its composition makes it rather unstable as far as oxidation is concerned, and it loses its organoleptic properties relatively quickly.

From an organoleptic point of view, it is a balanced smooth-pouring oil, with an average, grassy aroma of olives. The flavour is bitter with an average peak intensity and leaves a green almond aftertaste in the mouth. It is very pleasant when recently produced.

VERDIAL

The name verdial covers a series of local varieties spread throughout the South and the South-west of the peninsula. It has different names depending on its geographic origin.

I. VERDIAL OF BADAJOZ

General data and areas.

It is found throughout the province of Badajoz, in the community of Extremadura, to the borders with Portugal.

II. VERDIAL OF VELEZ-MALAGA

General data and areas.

This is a typical variety of the Axarquía region, in the South-east of the province of Malaga.

The oil.

The oils are fruity with a very sweet and pleasant flavour and do not taste bitter or peppery at all. Due to its composition, it has to be protected from heat, light and air to be best preserved. The virgin oil of this verdial cultivar is processed separately in Malaga, although it is also normally mixed with oils from the hojiblanca variety resulting in a perfect organoleptic blend with average stability.

EMPELTRE

General data and areas.

The empeltre variety is characteristic of the community of Aragon, originating in the locality of Pedrola (in the province of Saragossa). It is cultivated in an area that extends from the provinces of Logroño and Teruel through the Ebro Valley to the province of Tarragona, and can even be found on the Balearic Islands.

The oil.

The oils are a pale yellow colour in the majority of the cases, which is not due to harvesting when the olives are overripe. The oils have a mild fruity aroma and are very pleasant and very sweet tasting. They are never bitter or peppery and usually leave an aftertaste of almonds. As it is mild, it is ideal for blending.

PICUDO

General data and areas.

The olive is called picudo (which means "prominent peak") because of the shape of the drupe with a pointed and curved end and a noticeable teat. It has many other names, but the one it is given in Luque, a town in the south-east of Cordoba, where it is called "pajarero" (bird trapper) is curious. According to legend, because the oil is so sweet, when it is ripe, the birds peck at the fruit. This cultivar is widespread in the provinces of Cordoba, Granada, Malaga and Jaen, with the most plantations in the area of the Designation of Origin Baena, in the south-east of Cordoba.

The oil.

Its composition of fatty acids is almost the same as the lechin cultivar. As far as oxidation is concerned, the oils are included in the delicate range. Its organoleptic characteristics are very good, with unbeatable balance and sweetness, with no hard flavours and they pour very smoothly and are light, sometimes reminding us slightly of exotic fruits, apples and almonds.