Molino de la Vall Major

Experts in filtered, integral and ecologically produced, ecological extra virgin arbequina olive oil.
Molino de la Vall Major Company Raw Material

The Arbequina Olive.

The olive originates from the locality of Arbeca in the region of Les Garrigues, Lérida province.

It is one of the most highly-valued and best-known Spanish varieties.

It is Catalonia 's olive par excellence .

Traditionally, it was cultivated in the regions of Les Garrigues, Segrià (Lleida), Alt Camp and Baix Camp, and el Priorat. Over the last decade, plantations of this variety have been introduced in the rest of Spain , and in Aragon and Andalusia in particular.

The flavour of the oil from the Arbequina olive varies depending on the type of soil and climate.
The organoleptic characteristics will thus differ depending on the origin.

Its mild taste enhances the flavour of food, without masking it.

Composition of the olive

Vegetation water…50%

Oil………………........18-20%

Carbohydrates…...20%

Cellulose…………......6%

Proteins…………....…1.5%

Colouration period:

This refers to the period when the arbequina olive changes from its green colour into reddy-purple tones. This depends on the amount of insulation it receives.

Colouration is not synonymous with the ripening of the fruit. It signals the ideal time for the olive to be milled.

Table olives are harvested by hand when green.

Olea Europea Sativa

The Raw Material

The Arbequina Olive tree: Botanical name: Olea Europea Sativa.
It belongs to the family Oleaceae and order Ligustrales. It is a plant with perennial leaves.

This variety of olive tree is of average size, is leafy and looks healthy when bearing fruit.

It is a less robust plant . It has long shoots, little branching, and neither adventitious branches nor suckers. The dark green colour of the young wood gives this olive tree the appearance of a broom.

Olive groves of the arbequina variety offer some peculiar scenery, very different from those seen in areas of Andalusia , which mainly have olive trees of the picual variety.

The leaf is grooved with unthickened edges, widening out at the tip and small mucro. The beam has an ocraceous green colour and the reverse a green-yellow-grey colour.

The blossom. White and green, clustered together in a bunch. The average blossoming period of this variety is the first two weeks of May.

The fruit: The fruit of the olive tree is a drupe, comprising three parts

The outer part, the skin.

The intermediate part, the pulp, from which 70% of the oil is extracted.

The inner part, the stone or kernel , from which the remaining 30% of the oil is extracted.

The fruit is small, oval and short in shape, almost symmetrical, and has a low 4.6 pulp/stone ratio. Its small size, between 0.8 g. and 1.20 g., makes mechanized harvesting difficult.

The first green fruits form in the early summer months .

From the end of September onwards, the fruit ripens and becomes a classic drupe with a violet green colour, colouration.
The best time for milling is during the colouration phase (when they change colour), between the second week of November and the first week of December.

The olive cannot be consumed as it is from the tree, it has to be processed.

Olives produced for eating are harvested by hand when green. After harvesting, they undergo various types of treatment to make them edible (brine and seasoning).

The arbequina olive is a highly-valued variety due to its resistance to freezing temperatures and the low acidity level of its oil, although its fat yield is low (between 17.2% and 19.5%).

It produces fruity oils, with colours ranging from green to yellow, with apple and soft and sweet fresh almond aromas. They are very mild, neither very bitter nor spicy.

Molí del a Vall Major SL - Phone: (+0034) 973 13 37 28 - Email:info@molidelavallmajor.com