Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

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olive
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Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby olive » Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:22 pm

Interesting item on the problems facing olive growers here in Spain. It is in English.

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/19/in ... 50699.html

In our area olives are the number one source of income. Areas of asparagus continue to be grubbed up and parcels that grew wheat are both turned over to new olive trees. Older less productive groves are also being replaced with young trees that will take ten years to be producing effectively.

I have written before about the explosion in boreholes with solar panels and buried irrigation systems. There are over ten just in a two km radius of our house. Doubles the yield approx over a number of years. Downside is the aquifers are drying up.

So individuals are doing their best to take more olives to market to keep incomes up but contributing to the glut. Our forward thinking large Co op has long had huge capacity to store and sell oil later at a better price. Smaller co ops often have to sell in order to free up storage space for later harvests.

Spanish olive oil seems to suffer like Spanish wine. It is sold cheap to other countries and then mixed and sold on as Italian oil or French wine. Don't know what the answer is other than marketing. Ask a British housewife which is the best olive oil and I dare say she would say Bertolli from Italy.

Anyone else have a view on it?

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby El Cid » Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:31 pm

Sadly, the average British housewife doesn’t even really know what it is, apart from putting it into their ears! Bearing in mind most of them can’t cook, why would they know about it..

The minority, who do know something about food do knowwhat it is and use it, but probably just buy the stuff with the best marketing behind it.

Very few people are knowledgeable about the different choices available to them. Personally, I would love to go on an Olive Oil tasting course to learn more about it.

Any recommendations and comments about what is available from any forum members about specific varieties?

Sid

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby wollie » Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:56 pm

A friend of mine who works sourcing good wine and craft beer through Europe, they also do a bit of olive oil ans other stuff.
He told me one of the most plagiarised products in the world is olive oil.
The example he gave was, Italy produces 50 million litres of olive oil each year, Italy exports 100 million litres of olive each year (example figures)
Sid that's a very good idea and i will look into this myself, you and i will have a great time if we don't fall out...

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chrissiehope
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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby chrissiehope » Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:39 pm

El Cid wrote:Sadly, the average British housewife doesn’t even really know what it is, apart from putting it into their ears! Bearing in mind most of them can’t cook, why would they know about it..Sid
Hey Sid, that's a bit sexist don't you think ;-) ?
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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby El Cid » Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:46 pm

Is it? Most young modern women don’t seem to be able to cook, their male partners are far worse!

Perhaps I should have said “houseperson” just to be properly PC.

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby wollie » Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:01 pm

"ama de casa" i am sexist and i think women better and tidier than men, i am not a slob.
I actually think sexism is in some ways good as done properly be good as we compliment each other as we are a little bit different after all.
Enough of that ACEITE ACEITE.

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby 1bassleft » Thu Jul 25, 2019 1:24 am

I shall shout down this outrageous sexist/youngist/Britist talk by, er, admitting that Mrs 1BL is completely u/s at cooking and, co-incidentally, 'phoned me when I left her for 48hrs to attend a UK wedding (yes, during the service, TG it wasn't a church) to ask where the olive oil is kept so she could do an omelette.

On a more useful note, our local school where we have Spanish lessons organized a day trip to Periana. Apart from the views over Lago Vinuela and an incredible lunch for a pittance in a restaurant, we also had a tour of Cooperativa Olivarera "San Isidro" (C/Carascal 5, Periana, 952 536020, www.aceiteverdialperiana.es). The tour was shortened by my companeros' reluctance to hurry their lunch, but it included us all having a talk (in Spanish, but I was able to understand and chip in, and I'm not all that proficient) with tastings. Picante, fruity, one deliberately a bit rance to demo that looks aren't everything, and there's of course a sales shop next door but prices weren't tourist-trap. I paid about €5 for a litre of my fave of the oils tasted, "Verdial Frutado Dulce" which goes nowhere near the saucepan or frying pan and is absolutely lush on salads or fresh bread.

If you can rustle up enough chums, I'm sure they'd lay it on, or perhaps you could enquire if there are "come whomever" slots in the near future. Actually, my litre's on the last few ml...

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby 1bassleft » Thu Jul 25, 2019 1:44 am

And back to the OP, no bias - I've long held the view that Spanish olive oil (generic for generic) is superior to Italian and Greek. I don't know if they still do, but Sainsbury's sold own-brand extra virgin in Spanish, Greek and Italian varieties and I prefer the contribution of the terroir d'Espagne. My local chippy owner in UK is Cypriot and gave me a cup to glug from his very own villa vines. Like Prescott, who was served duck on a visit to China as Deputy PM and caused stony offence by saying "It's good, but not as good as Mr Lom's in Hull", I told him I preferred some of the produce from my local co-operatives. There was a Heston Blumenthal foamy substance on my chips that night, which was an adventurous departure from the usual S+V, but a bit bland and warm for my taste.

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby katy » Thu Jul 25, 2019 5:16 pm

A lot of assumption on here what the average UK "housewife" uses...or not uses! The oil I use from a mill in Provence is my favourite. They do lots of infused ones too. Love the one with different herbs and the chile one. I bring a lot back when we go to Nice every April. I like it on my pizza or sprinkled on crusty bread with cheese. Drizzling different ones on lamb or roast beef. Being English I like my chips n' eggs fried in sunflower oil :D

If in Spain I buy oil from Jaen, avoid the tourist shops where it may have been hanging around for years. The only place I trust after the Spanish olive oil scandal where they were diluting it with engine oil (many died or were left disabled). Like good wine some of their oils are expensive.

I suppose like wine there is a lot of snobbery about.

http://www.nicolas-alziari.com/oil-olive.html?___SID=U

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby katy » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:08 pm

Just remembered. Did anyone watch bargain loving brits in the Sun? One episode a woman living on a caravan site near Antequera brought a chip pan complete with lard in it from UK :lol: I suppose she won't be buying extra virgen.

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby spanish_lad » Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:17 pm

Well... isnt that just nasty.

We have a nice greenish olive oil from a olive oil co-operative place in Granada, well - more near lake vinuela I guess, it was about 9€ for 5L ... but it was a fair drive. Nice stuff, tasty.

Katy.. the prices on the link you posted.. wow.. thats alot of money to eat...
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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby katy » Fri Jul 26, 2019 9:25 pm

Some of the specialist oils from Jaen are expensive too. They aren't to slosh around though. This is ok. only a small bottle though.
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/ ... lsrc=aw.ds

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby 1bassleft » Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:19 am

Near Vinuela, Spanish Lad? I wonder if that's the San Isidro co-op I visited? €9 for 5 litres is very good compared to my 1 @ €5. I didn't look around the lot as I partic wanted the one from the tasting sessions but that's a good price for general use.

Hey Katy, re: that Amigos Lounge thread, get a quick edit in (and make me look like I'm talking nonsense - as usual) or we'll start looking for olive oil from Chile in Provence, or is it Provence in Chile?

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby katy » Sun Aug 04, 2019 1:01 pm

They do lots of infused ones too. Love the one with different herbs and the chile one.... Yes, maybe a bit ambiguous, I was assuming all the intelligent posters on here could follow my train of thoughts and link Chile to infused. :wink: I would never be hired by Rees-Mogg :mrgreen:

I was surprised to read this week that the USA has imposed tariffs on Spanish Olive oil and it has had a devastating effect on some Spanish Producers. Why just Spain, anyone know?

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby 1bassleft » Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:14 pm

AFAIK, Trump was postulating all sorts of tariffs on the Unfair EU (Boeing have a lot of form) and refined agricultural products are in the firing line. Depending on the media outlet's audience, they'll highlight the whiskey, cheese, olive oil etc. If you're tuned into Andalucia news outlets, they focus on the olive oil; partly because it's a major producer (certainly compared to cheese and other products) but also because the proposed tariff is 100%

According to Olive Oil Times (this week's guest publication), the Italians are worst hit, with 50% of theirs exported to the US, Spain about 33% and Greece also about 50%. In terms of sheer tonnage, though, Spain is the biggest exporter to the US. The Boeing-Airbus row has been going on for years. While the US subsidizes Boeing massively, it dislikes the EU doing the same with Airbus and got in first with the WTO to confirm that the subsidies happen (quite a recent judgement, IIRC) so here are the retaliation threats. Whole olives have upped tariffs already, I think, so it's not an idle one and US-China row has plateaued so the attention is shifting to the EU.

I'm not a SPaG pedant Katy (except on myself) but Chile the country, chilli (or chili for our US chums) the hot stuff and chilly the relative conditions I expect in NW England when I fly there tomorrow are homophones, rather than ambiguities. JRM's style sheet was doubtless to reinforce his Minister for the 18th Century persona, I suspect.

ps, I really am not a point-scorer so I'll throw in for free that I used to pronounce Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile the same way as the country. My mates thought I was making a silly joke, to which my response was, "Er... yeah... just my little joke"

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby wollie » Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:34 am

I was chatting a guy the other day as i bought a moto from him.
He is an olive farmer and he told me he has 20 hectarea which returnabout 2 metric tons per hectarea.
He said his income is about €50k+ on the basis that he gets 75/80 cent per kilo.
There is also payment of €200 per hectarea which is €4,000.
I was surprised it was so profitable if people have enough area.
He also told me that 30 years ago it was mostly cotton but the family
changed to olives as more profitable.
I thought people here be interested.

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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby Enrique » Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:46 am

Hi,
"gets 75/80 cent per kilo."...........this year I got 51 cents per kilo.......private Mill ,some Co-operatives seem to pay more.

Have to ask Member olive as he uses one........... :idea:

I don't get the subsidy any more as they upped the size of the Parcelas they start paying it out some years ago.
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Re: Olive Oil, Liquid gold or not?

Postby wollie » Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:57 pm

I expect this guy knows what he is about as he works in a place which produces olives for table for 3 months in Sevilla each year.
For example he was talking of different types and that most of the olives in his area were for olive oil.
He also said that the single olive tree produces better olives as there is less competition for the water.


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