Aceites La Matilla,

Olive oil is nothing more than the juice of the olive (fruit of the olive tree). It is the healthiest vegetable fat thanks to its oleic acid content and its composition of unsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols, natural antioxidants.

Almost a third of the olive pulp is oil, which makes it very easy to extract with a simple pressure. Its main use is culinary but it is also used for cosmetic, medicinal, religious uses, oil lamps…

Contrary to wine, time is the enemy of olive oil as it changes its aroma and flavour. The ideal is to consume olive oil that is no more than 18 months old from its packaging date. The older an olive oil is, the lower its quality.

Olive oils are more stable at high temperatures than other vegetable oils due to their oleic acid content. For this reason, frying with extra virgin olive oil is the best. Olive oil is ideal for frying at 180ºC, allowing the creation of a crunchy layer that prevents the food from absorbing oil. Nutritionists recommend the use of EVOO over any other vegetable oil because at high temperatures it continues to maintain its properties.

In addition, it is important to preserve it from light, heat and humidity to maintain its excellent properties. It has 9 cal/gr, the same amount of calories as the rest of vegetable oils.

The facilities where the oil is obtained are called oil mills. La Matilla Oils has more than 40 hectares of olive trees and its own oil mill, so the entire process is carried out entirely on our farm.

The oil is extracted from ripe olives between six and eight months. The olives are harvested at the end of autumn and beginning of winter, which is when the olives contain their maximum amount of oil.

The olives are subjected to a first pressure in order to extract their juice. The quality of the oil largely depends on the subsequent processing. For this reason, at Aceites La Matilla we carefully collect the olives by hand and take care that a traditional elaboration is carried out in our oil mill using baskets and carrying out the entire process of collection, elaboration and packaging in less than 6 hours. The olives must be pressed as soon as possible after harvesting as this influences the quality of the oil obtained, which is why we do it in less than 6 hours.

As in wine there are many varieties of olives. Just as you choose the wine with which to pair your food, you can also choose the olive oil that best harmonizes with what you are cooking, whether you want to give prominence to the flavor of the oil or if you want it to go unnoticed. Each variety of olive has different characteristics in terms of bitterness, itching, fruitiness… Below we reveal the most common varieties.

• Arbequina: from this olive we obtain slightly green oils, sweeter and more balanced, nothing bitter or spicy. This species is typical of Lleida and Tarragona, although it has also spread to Andalusia and Castilla La Mancha due to its high productivity.

This Arbequina olive oil is ideal for chicken, fish, shellfish, potatoes, legumes and desserts.

• Picual: gives us oils with green tones, full-bodied, with slightly bitter and spicy flavors with light fruity touches. Originally from Jaén, but it is also found in Córdoba and Granada. It represents more than 50% of Spanish production, and 20% of the world. Picual olive oil is perfect for red meats and vegetables.
• Hojiblanca: Mainly cultivated in the provinces of Seville, Córdoba and Málaga. It gives us oils with golden tones and soft flavors with a slight bitterness of green fruits and subtle itching with a final touch of almonds. This hojiblanca olive oil is ideal for lamb, pork, fish, shellfish, vegetables and rice dishes.
  Cornicabra: is a typical variety of Ciudad Real and Toledo. Cornicabra olive oil is a very aromatic oil, with a slight bitterness and a somewhat more intense itching. Ideal for oven roasts.

At Aceites La Matilla we produce Arbequina olive oil and Coupage olive oil, a mixture of Arbequina and Picual olives, selecting the best olive trees on our farm and those with the best ripening point. The result of this is a unique and exclusive luxury gourmet extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil is the mainstay of our beloved Mediterranean diet due to its healthy and antioxidant properties. It is called the “liquid gold” of the Mediterranean diet for its golden appearance and fragrant aroma.

Spain is at the forefront in the production of high-quality olive oil, and is also the leading producer and exporter of olive oil. At Aceites La Matilla we harvest the olives by hand and extract the olive oil cold using capachos, guaranteeing the conservation of the organoleptic and physicochemical properties of the olive oil.

Read on to discover everything you need to know about olive oil.

At Aceites La Matilla we produce Arbequina olive oil and Coupage olive oil, a mixture of Arbequina and Picual olives, selecting the best olive trees on our farm and those with the best ripening point. The result of this is a unique and exclusive luxury gourmet extra virgin olive oil.

The difference is simply purity. Extra virgin olive oil, known as EVOO, is much more pure and unrefined while olive oil is a mixture of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil.

If the oil is extracted from the olives simply mechanically without adding chemicals or other interventions, we obtain virgin olive oils (extra virgin, virgin or lampante). On the contrary, if this olive juice is subjected to a refining process, we will have dry olive oil.

According to the EU, only the following types of olive oil can be marketed at retail:

Extra virgin olive oil: it is the highest quality oil. For short it is usually called EVOO. This type of oil is made using a technique called cold pressing, without using any other method to increase the production of the oil such as the application of heat. Being obtained only from the first press, this type of olive oil contains all the properties intact and therefore has a higher purity. Its degree of acidity cannot exceed 0.8° (expressed as a percentage of free oleic acid). In addition, it must comply with the regulations of EU quality standards. To do this, it must be tasted by an official panel that determines that it has no defects, with the median number of defects being equal to 0 and the median number of fruitiness greater than 0. If it does not meet any of these characteristics, it cannot be labeled as “Extra Virgin”. ” and will simply be labeled “Virgin”.

Virgin olive oil: it has a lower quality grade than extra virgin. In terms of extraction, it follows the same methods as EVOO oil, but the difference is that it cannot exceed 2° of acidity. The median of defects must be less than 3.5 and the median of fruitiness greater than 0. Virgin olive oil with many defects is called lampante virgin olive oil, which is not commercial. This type of oil was formerly used as fuel for lamps, hence its name “lampante”. Nowadays, it is refined to obtain refined olive oil which is mixed with virgin or extra virgin olive oil to make it marketable under the name of olive oil.
Olive oil: it is a mixture of refined olive oil, which is obtained from the refining of defective oils that have not reached the aforementioned quality parameters, and virgin olive oils.
Olive pomace oil: this oil is obtained from the remains of extra virgin olive oil production.

Therefore, extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil. For this reason, at La Matilla Oils we only produce premium quality gourmet extra virgin olive oil. For this, we harvest the olives by hand directly from the tree, at their best ripening point, preventing the olive from being damaged and oxidized, thus losing quality. We extract the oil cold, at temperatures below 27ºC to ensure the highest quality. In addition, it is essential to grind the olive in the shortest possible time after harvesting to prevent the fruit from being damaged. We carry out the entire process of harvesting, processing and packaging in less than 6 hours.

Oddly enough, the color of olive oil tells us nothing, in fact, it doesn’t matter what color it is. Moreover, in the organoleptic analysis of olive oil, it is served in cobalt blue glass glasses to avoid visual analysis and not influence its result. Extra virgin olive oil can be of different colors: golden yellow, dark green, grass green, and it does not affect its quality.

As for the flavor of the EVOO, it should be similar to that of the fruit. Therefore, its flavor will depend on the type of olives used and their maturity. The more mature the olive is at the time of harvesting, the more the oil will taste like almonds. The olives should be harvested when they are still green or starting to turn red. A black olive will produce a large amount of oil but its quality will be low.

The greatest enemies of olive oil are air, light and temperature. Air can cause oxidation of the oil. As for the temperature, the ideal is to store it between 8ºC and 30ºC. Below 8ºC the oil begins to freeze, solidifying. When the temperature rises, the oil becomes liquid again without losing its aroma and flavor, but it will be more liquid, less greasy, affecting its quality. A good quality oil should feel viscous in the mouth.

Regarding the conservation of olive oil, it is best to store it in dark glass bottles, tinned cans, ceramics or transparent bottles made of special glass to protect it from light. At La Matilla Oils we take this very much into account and, therefore, we package our oil in this type of container, giving it a very exclusive touch. The design of our packaging makes it a perfect gift. Giving extra virgin olive oil as a gift is a guaranteed success.

Thanks to its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid), olive oil has many benefits for our health. Among them we can list:

control of high blood pressure
increases levels of good cholesterol (HDL)
lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) levels
prevents the onset of diabetes
reduces the occurrence of thrombosis

In addition, it contains polyphenols that are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, so:

prevents aging
reduces joint pain and swelling from rheumatoid arthritis
prevents cancer
prevents Alzheimer’s
improves skin health
improves the immune system

Without a doubt, there are many benefits that EVOO brings to our health. Therefore, do not hesitate to consume it. At Aceites La Matilla, your shop to buy gourmet olive oil online, we have the best premium extra virgin olive oil. Our craftsmanship makes it a luxury, unique and exclusive premium EVOO oil. In addition, we take great care of the aesthetics of our oil containers, thus giving them a touch of elegance that makes them ideal for giving olive oil as a gift.