Types of oil

Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is pure olive juice from our picual variety olive groves. Natural, fresh, fragrant oil, fruity smell and delicious, intense flavor. The picual variety is the most stable that exists, meaning a longer lifespan. It is one of the pillars of the Mediterranean diet. It is considered the healthiest fat due to its high content of oleic acid. It is therefore a monounsaturated fat, with very beneficial effect on cholesterol. We harvest the olives at the optimal moment of their ripening to obtain maximum quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil with sensory characteristics at their highest level, for this the harvesting, transportation, processing and storage is carried out separately from the olive from the ground to that of the tree (or flight). Oleícola Álvarez S.L. has put all the means, both technical and human, and quality standards, to integrate the set of activities aimed at discovering and satisfying the needs of a group or society in general, both in the national and international markets. For this reason, we consider that our product reaches the desired level of quality when it responds to the demands and requirements of our customers. This is the company’s greatest objective since they are increasingly demanding and make continuous, organized and systematic work more necessary. assurance and control of this.

Description of olive oil.

Olive oil is extracted from the olive. The composition of the olive at the time of harvest is very variable, depending on the variety of olives, the soil, the climate, and the crop. Approximately the olive contains, at the time of harvesting. Oil 18-32%, water 40-55% and plant tissues 23-35%. Virgin olive oil is the juice of the olive, so it preserves all the flavor and nutritional properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the richest in oleic acid. It is therefore a monounsaturated fat, with a very beneficial effect on cholesterol, lowering the rates of LDL, bad cholesterol, and increasing HDL, the good cholesterol (suitable for all cardiovascular problems).

Types of olive oil.

The legislation of the European Union has established in the International Olive Oil Convention of 1986 the name “Olive Oil” only to the oil from the fruit of the olive tree, excluding those obtained by solvents or by mixing with other oils. different nature. This designation is also not applicable to the oil obtained from olive pomace. The legislation distinguishes the following types of olive oil for marketing, within olive oils we can distinguish:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This type of oil is of the highest quality, it is obtained directly from olives in good condition only by mechanical procedures, with an impeccable flavor and smell and free of defects, and its degree of acidity cannot exceed 0.8°, expressed as a percentage of free oleic acid. The median number of defects must be equal to 0 and the median fruitiness must be greater than 0.

Virgin olive oil

This oil follows the same quality parameters as extra olive oil, in terms of production methods. The difference is that it cannot exceed 2° acidity. The median number of defects must be less than 3.5 and the median fruitiness must be greater than 0. In other words, defects must be practically imperceptible to the consumer.

Lampante Olive Oil

It is very defective virgin oil and therefore cannot be consumed directly like other virgin oils. Its name comes from the use it was given in times past as fuel for lamps or candles. Today it is the one used to be refined.

Refined olive oil

It is an oil that comes from lampante olive oil, not suitable for direct consumption. Through refining it is made edible, but it is not sold directly to the consumer, it is used for preserves (especially fish) and for mayonnaise, margarines, etc.

Olive oil

It is a mixture of refined olive oil, which is obtained from the refining of defective oils, which have not reached the quality parameters mentioned above, and virgin or extra virgin olive oil. As we will observe, he has lost the word “virgin.” This is because in the process of making refined oil, other chemical or thermal processes are used to clean aromas, flavors and colors. The degree of acidity of this olive oil cannot be higher than 1°.

Refined olive pomace oil

Oil from raw olive pomace oil, not suitable for direct consumption, is obtained, by physical or chemical means, from the pomace resulting from the grinding of the olive. Through a refining process it is made edible, but it is not marketed directly to the consumer.

Olive pomace oil

This type of oil is the result of a mixture of refined olive pomace oil and virgin or extra virgin olive oil. The final graduation obtained, in oleic acid, will not exceed 1°.