The Picual, also known as Marteña or Lopereña, is an
olive cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Picual olives are the most commonly grown olive today for
olive oil production,
with production centered in the Spanish province of
Jaén. Picual trees are estimated to account for 25% of all olive oil production in the world.
Naturally, this varietal is very high in oil content, at 20-27% by weight.
Characteristics
Virgin olive oil from Picual olives have high levels of
polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some o ...
s (a class of organic organic compounds which are known to have
antioxidant effects),
typically between 300 and 700ppm.
Many Picual groves are primarily harvested when ripe or overripe to maximize oil content, and thus produce oil with poor taste qualities.
Less than one quarter of the harvest each year qualifies as Extra Virgin.
Synonyms
Aceite (de), Albaideño, Andaluza, Blanca, Calidad (de), Carlon, Corriente, Doncel, Fina, Grosal, Jabata, Javata, Lopereño, Marteño, Marteño Basto, Fino, Molejona, Moradillo, Moradillo Negro, Moradillo Temprano, Morcona, Morenillo, Nevadillo, Nevadillo Blanco, Nevadillo de Martos, Nevado, Nevado Blanco, Nevado Blanco Productivo, Olive Grosse de Tlemcen, Olivo Macho de Santisteban del Puerto, Picua', Picual de Hoja Clara, Picual de Hoja Oscura, Picual de Jaẽn, Picuda, Picual de Almeria, Picudo, Picudo de Martos, Picudo Loporeño, Picudo Marteño, Picvalles, Redondilla, Salgar, Salgares, Sevillano, Sir George Grey's Spanish, Temprana, Tetudilla, Picual de Almeria, Picual de Almeria (Gordal), Picual de Almeria (Picual), Picual de Estepa, Picual de Estepa (Picual), and Picudo (Picual)
Retrieved 2018-07-09
References
{{Olives
Olive cultivars