The olive

The olive

02-03-2019

The olive
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The olive is an edible drupe, of variable size, with a single seed, stone or core inside. Around 200 varieties of olive are cultivated in Spain. Each of them is characterised by its unique flavours and aromas.

The olive varieties that we grow at El Cortijo Suerte Alta are the varieties native to the province of Cordoba:

-Picual: This variety, predominant in the Iberian Peninsula and on the planet, is so called because the shape of this olive ends in a beak. It is mainly found in Jaén, Córdoba and Granada. It has a high oil yield, although this will depend on the nutritional state of the olive tree, level of load, ripeness of the olive, climatic conditions of the cultivation area etc.

-Hojiblanca: It owes its name to the colour of its leaves, which are light-coloured (white leaves). This variety has the particularity that it is used both to obtain oil and as a table olive. It is late ripening and has a medium-large size.

-Picudo or Carrasqueño: Originally from Cordoba, more specifically from Baena, its cultivation is mainly found in the provinces of Cordoba, Jaen, Granada and Malaga. This variety is called 'picudo' because of the shape of the olive, curved and pointed. It has good characteristics for oil production, although it has traditionally been used as a table olive, having a good reputation.

We produce our Marqués de Prado Extra Virgin Olive Oil on our Seville estate. The variety we produce in Seville is Arbequina:

-Arbequina: This is the most cultivated variety in Catalonia and is among the ten most produced varieties in Spain. Its name comes from the town of Arbeca in Lleida. This type of olive does not have good characteristics for table olives, due to its small size and large stone. It is an early ripening olive.