The still life of happiness
Just over a month ago the **Evooleum World's Top100 Extra Virgin Olive Oils Guide** returned to put Jaén in its place , raising the picual olive to the Olympus of oils . And it is that the spicy flavor of the picual is penetrating again in some palates that seemed to have been putting it aside in recent years in favor of flavors sweeter like the arbequina either more politically correct like the hojiblanca.
But the picual olive is rebellious, intense, as is the Andalucía de Jaén , ancient and transgressive at the same time. And in the top 1 of the guide we have come across **the picual de Oro Bailén **, a company of the Galvez Gonzalez family which has been producing and marketing early oils of the highest quality for 14 years.
JAEN: THE TEMPLE OF THE PICUAL OLIVES
In the 2008/2009 campaign, Oro Bailén obtained the Food of Spain award for the best extra virgin olive oil in Spain in the category of sweet green fruity by the Ministry of Agriculture. From this moment, the awards have not stopped happening e, placing Oro Bailén at the top of the most prestigious national and international competitions.
“We are very proud of this title and in some way all the effort we make every year to improve ourselves is rewarded. And more coming from the hand of the Evooleum guide , of such recognized prestige and with a group of magnificent and renowned tasters who are part of the jury” tells us Edurne Rubio, its commercial director.
The origin of liquid gold
Edurne explains that each variety has its particularity. “Specifically, in this case it is Picual, from olive groves located in the Sierra Norte of the province of Jaén , in the foothills of Sierra Morena, at an altitude of 400 metres. Their privileged situation constitutes an authentic natural border between the plateau and the Guadalquivir Valley , with enclaves of high ecological value typical of the Mediterranean forest with a great variety of fauna and flora species ”.
With its oils as a base too make extra virgin olive oil jelly , a jam with a sweet flavor, with the characteristic fruitiness of its Oro Bailén oils, giving it a unique flavor, capable of enhancing each dish in the most versatile way. they also do EVOO pearls , which are spherifications of Oro Bailén extra virgin olive oil (both with great acceptance by the restaurant sector).
When choosing a good olive oil, Oro Bailén is clear about it: you always have to start with an extra virgin. "After, you have to look for oil from the current campaign, not from previous years , because the oil must be consumed the fresher the better. Although this information does not always come on the label. And the main thing, smell it and taste it. A good olive juice should smell of fresh fruit and owes us remember herbaceous, fruity, which will vary according to the variety, according to the maturation of the fruit when it was harvested".
The top 3 is Spanish (and the top 4, in fact)
LA PICUAL IS IN FASHION AMONG RESTAURANTS AND YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
The picual variety of extra virgin olive oil is one of the best-selling oils outside our borders. For some time now, it has begun to unleash passions and relaunch tourism in strongholds of the picual such as Sierra Mágina , possibly the area of Spain where they know the most about this variety.
Some extra virgin olive oils such as the early harvest selection of ** Oro de Cánava ** has been included in the line of products sold by Canal Cocina, placing this liquid gold from one of the best picual olives in the world in one of the most coveted by the chefs of our geography (and outside of it).
Also, it's starting to emerge a culture of talents around olive oil , in the same way that a decade ago it began with wine. We have found projects of young entrepreneurs who decide to bet on oil and make your own signature EVOO with a good base of honesty and freshness.
We find projects like ONLY , a bet of two twin brothers, a cook and an economist, who have traveled half the world and spent great moments of their lives in the town of Jaen Baths of the Oak . In 2017 they decided to pay tribute to everything that they have lived there and created SOLO.
receives us Anna Vargas (the economist) : “our oil is 100% Picual from Baños de la Encina, Jaén . We believe that SOLO connects a lot with consumers who are looking for natural products, without shrillness, that have a connection with the rural environment, with the pure . The essence of SOLO is the authenticity of the people of the countryside of Jaén, it has something very telluric, of the land and of the Andalusian cultural heritage. It is bitter, intense, fresh, green at the beginning and spicy at the end” he explains.
everything is born from here
To make ONLY they pick the olives at the veraison point (optimum moment of maturation of the olive when it goes from green to purple) : “ We grind cold and a small part is packaged without filtering, ONLY Fugaz . It is very special because it keeps particles of water, skin, pulp and bone from the fruit, and all the polyphenols, chlorophylls, and vitamin E from the olive . We say that it is alive until May 2020 because it maintains its power and attributes for a few months. The truth is that it runs out very quickly because it arouses a lot of curiosity,” says Vargas.
Baths of the Oak It is located on a hill that separates Sierra Morena from the olive-growing countryside and ONLY has all the attributes that this terroir gives it. Ana Vargas defines it like this: “We are Andalusians from Jaén, we are lucky to be in the world oil epicenter , we believe in the haughty olive growers, in the culture of our land and our family, and it is part of what we want to convey with SOLO”. And the result is a simply spectacular EVOO. This blow to the table that Jaén has given with his picual was already becoming necessary".
Jaén, the sea of olive trees
CIUDAD REAL ALSO SHOWS OFF ITS PICUAL
The picual olive empire not only wants to stay in Jaén. The neighboring Ciudad Real can boast of oils that have been at the top of the rankings for years, as is the case of Olive Palace , in the La Mancha town of Almagro.
Palacio de los Olivos for the third consecutive time has been first in the Evoo World Ranking in the picual category. And it is that this oil has a lot to say, elaborated by Olivapalacios, a family company located in a fantastic farm on volcanic soil especially rich in nutrients and under the unique climate of La Mancha, which gives its olives a unique flavor.
We wanted to ask Raul Mora , manager and owner of the company about the value of the picual, more specifically the one they grow in La Mancha. “The Picual olive is a native variety from Andalusia, with a very high intrinsic nutritional and sensory value, which , thanks to the excellent and unique soil and climate conditions of our field , and to the extraordinary work we do in the care and attention of the olive grove, it develops magnificently on our farm” he explains.
In the town of Almagro the best picual in the world is produced
Palacio de los Olivos has a great personality, with very well defined sensory nuances, complex, with fresh herbaceous and fruity aromas, with a very high load of natural nutrients that are very beneficial for health , in the form of natural antioxidants. To achieve this, Mora explains that they take care of the olive grove and the olive trees throughout the year in a sustainable and respectful way with the environment.
Such is the success of this picual oil that 60% of the production of its bottled oil is exported to Asia , for Mora an emerging market that is very interested in knowing about the origin and method of production of what they buy and very demanding consumers who demand exquisite, healthy and very high quality products. And it is that the EVOO fever in Asia already has a new BFF, picual olive . Now all he has to do is stay and rule them all.
The great picual of Ciudad Real