A cheek or some custard with early olive oil are some of the latest dishes (two Michelin stars, one red and one green, and two Repsol soles). This chef has turned to his Andalusian roots to merge the best EVOO (acronym for Extra Virgin Olive Oil) with the green haute cuisine that is the essence of the establishment he runs in the Chamberí neighborhood, in Madrid. “EVOO and, especially, early oil, has already become the main wardrobe of the best kitchens in the world,” explains Rodrigo de la Calle, who serves as ambassador for Puerta de Las Villas oil, which produces the cooperative from his hometown, Mogón (Jaén).
In Jaén, the world’s main olive producer, early oil is the jewel in the crown of this inland paradise, with its sea of 67 million olive trees, mostly of the picual variety. Two out of three oil companies (mostly oil mills and cooperatives) already have their letter of introduction in what is also known as first harvest oils or green oil, a juice that is extracted from the youngest olives that are green or in veraison. . (the less the olive has ripened, the more antioxidants are preserved) with the result of broths with a great aroma and a fruitiness that, depending on the variety of the olive tree, evokes fresh grass, fennel, tomato, alloza or almond. And an oil with a high chlorophyll content that stands out for the balance it presents between its hotness, sweetness and bitterness.
“They are much more balanced and harmonious oils that stand out for the explosion of green, vegetal or herbaceous aromas and flavors,” says Francisco Vañó, general director of Castillo de Canena, one of the precursor companies in what is now known as the revolution. of the highest quality oils. So much so that there is even a First Oil Fair, which this year brings together in Andújar (Jaén) more than a hundred companies that exhibit their most exquisite letter of presentation. This festival, which celebrates its eleventh edition organized by the Provincial Council of Jaén, has this year as a crier linked to olive oil from Orcera, the town of Jaén where he took his first steps and where his family lives.
a traditional mountain olive grove, in the Guadalquivir valley and at the foot of the Sierra de Las Villas, which confers special tributes to our oil thanks to the careful olive selection process,” says José Gilabert, president of the cooperative that has already produced more than 400,000 kilos of early oil. At the other end of the province, in the heart of the Sierra Sur de Jaén, in a traditional mountain olive grove, Antonio Manuel Conde is clear that excellent EVOO is a tribute to tradition and family heritage. “Each drop reflects the dedication and love that generations have put into these lands, taking care of the natural environment and the olive trees that surround it,” explains this young farmer from Castillo de Locubín.
Early oil is already considered among the olive sector as a second annual harvest for the olive grove because it provides greater added value by being marketed as a high-end product. A product that can multiply the price of a normal EVOO by three or four, and half-liter bottles are sold at an average price of about 10 euros. A figure, in any case, that chef Rodrigo de la Calle sees as still insufficient. “We have to raise the price of these oils that are at another level, they play in the Champions League and there is a lot of work required to obtain them.” “We remain faithful to the production of high-quality early oils and the production of our first day of harvest, where 30,000 bottles will be bottled to begin with,” says Gabriel J. Alonso, president of Picualia, in Bailén.
“It has been a conjunction of the continent and the content,” admits the head of Castillo de Canena, a brand that each campaign uses a famous artist as the face of its labels. For Francisco Reyes, president of the Jaén Provincial Council, the institution that has promoted the First Oil Festival, it is “the best promotional showcase for our liquid gold, something that reinforces us as references for the best extra virgin olive oil and puts in “values the attractiveness of oleotourism.”
