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The art of pairing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil in food and wines

Oct 2, 2023

EVOO is not only a healthy choice, but also a versatile and delicious companion in your search for an exceptional gastronomic experience. From Ad Morum Oils we show you how this gastronomic gem can further enhance your meals through pairing. The power of EVOO in your dishes Finding that magical touch that elevates your dishes to new heights is a constant challenge. But what if I told you that the solution lies in a liquid treasure of our nature? This gift from our land is made with the most select olives. EVOO is not only synonymous with health, but it is also an unparalleled companion in the pursuit of gastronomic excellence. Thus, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is known for its versatility and distinctive flavor. Its flavor profile can vary from fruity and smooth to spicy and bitter, which makes it perfect for enhancing a variety of foods. Appetizers with an ideal pairing: Extra Virgin Olive Oil and fresh bread One of the simplest but most delicious pairings is EVOO with fresh bread. Picual EVOO stands out for its robust flavor, with notes ranging from fruity and fresh to slightly spicy. This versatility makes it the perfect ally to succeed and achieve that special touch in appetizers. Once you try Picual EVOO with white bread or a more robust one, such as rye, you will savor a perfect blend. Pair with a light white wine or a sparkling wine for a truly sublime experience. Salads as an option to combine refreshing with good taste Salads are the perfect canvas for EVOO. Combine an Early Harvest Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil with a spinach and strawberry salad for a delicious balance of sweetness and bitterness. If you prefer a classic Mediterranean salad, pair your tomato and basil salad with Picual EVOO. The perfect pairing with EVOO in fish and seafood EVOO enhances the flavor of fish and seafood exceptionally. A fruity EVOO, such as picual, will enhance the freshness of a tuna pipirrana. Thanks to its versatility, this pairing also perfectly complements grilled salmon. Accompany your fish dishes with a dry white wine or a light rosé to balance the flavors. Grilled meats and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a bold combination Do not underestimate the power of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in grilled meats. Pairing it with EVOO can enhance, for example, the juiciness of a beef ribeye. Opt for a full-bodied red wine to accompany your grilled meats and create a pairing that will surprise everyone. Desserts with EVOO for a sophisticated touch Our liquid gold also has a place in desserts. A quality EVOO can elevate the flavor of ice cream, brownies, and even dark chocolate. From the quality of the wine and EVOO along with the sweet, an incredible gastronomic experience is born. This occurs, for example, when pairing vanilla panna cotta with EVOO. A sweet wine or a port are ideal options to close the experience. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an element that transforms your dishes into culinary masterpieces. Its distinctive flavor and health benefits make pairing your meals with this oil a plus to enjoy the gastronomic world to the fullest. Ad Morum Oils is the secret touch that will turn your meals into extraordinary culinary experiences. Get your Picual EVOO in our online store!

The EVOO grinding and extraction process

Sep 14, 2023

If there's one thing we can't do without at any time of year, it's the quintessential ingredient of the Mediterranean diet: Extra Virgin Olive Oil. In this article, Aceites Ad Morum tells you some interesting facts about the milling and extraction process for making liquid gold. Read on! The Milling Process Milling is the term used for the process of grinding or crushing olives to extract their oil. Generally, it involves breaking the pulp cells of the olives and extracting their juice, i.e., the oil. At the beginning of the harvest, when the olives are still green, the oil-containing cells are smaller, which means the crushing needs to be much finer and more delicate. Once the olives ripen and their cells become larger, the crushing can be coarser. Innovation and technological development have allowed for the implementation of a modern technological system using a hammer mill and a "centrifugation" process, which we will discuss later. Both accelerate the process while ensuring proper hygiene to achieve an optimal result. After harvesting, the olives are cleaned of impurities and any remaining stones or twigs are removed. Now begins the first step, called "milling." This is done using hammer mills. In this step, the olives are crushed in the mill, breaking their structure. The resulting paste then goes to kneaders where rotating blades work for about 20 minutes. This homogenizes the paste and combines the oil molecules. This kneader is water-controlled and also maintains control over temperature and oil extraction. During the process, temperature influences the quality of the EVOO. At lower temperatures, the EVOO will have higher quality, as it better preserves the organoleptic properties of the olive. Unfortunately, this does reduce the quantity obtained, as it will be less compared to making oil at higher temperatures. By reducing the temperature to less than 27ºC, cold-extracted EVOO is achieved. Centrifugation Once the kneading phase is complete, the centrifugation process begins. This system originally consisted of three phases, but thanks to technological advances, the industry has now reduced this centrifugation process to two. Therefore, what was previously divided into three phases (solid phase, liquid oil, and liquid pomace water) is now reduced to two centrifugation phases. Furthermore, this system has been shown to be more efficient and is therefore the most widely used in Spanish olive mills. Thus, a horizontal centrifuge is used to separate the liquid part, i.e., the oil, from the solid part, which includes the olive skin, pit, water, and some oil. This solid phase is known as "alpeorujo," which is de-pitted at the factory itself. Afterward, it goes to pomace extractors. The obtained liquid phase is then subjected to further centrifugation. This second centrifugation is vertical and will separate the oil from the water. The last part of the process would be filtration. Filtering improves the quality of the oil and extends its optimal condition. This way, we remove moisture and impurities from the oil that cause the product to oxidize more quickly. Thus, the oil will be preserved in better condition. Finally, the oil is stored in tanks protected from sudden temperature changes. Storage in air-conditioned cellars will also protect it from light while awaiting bottling. Now you have a clearer understanding of how the milling and extraction processes work in the production of EVOO at Aceites Ad Morum. All that's left is to try our product— the store is just one click away!

Harvesting and choosing olives: a crucial step

Jul 31, 2023

Within the production process of quality olive oil, the moment of choosing and harvesting the olives is a key factor for oil mills. At Aceites Ad Morum we carefully measure and work each part of the production process of our liquid treasure to achieve the best flavor and quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Let us tell you all about it! The harvesting and selection of olives stands out as a fundamental process in the production of olive oil and its quality. This is due to its importance in terms of flavor, quality, and aroma. Therefore, great attention must be paid to this stage, as different factors will serve to obtain an exceptional product in every sense. The first thing to consider is that to ensure the olives reach the oil mill as quickly and efficiently as possible, optimal and careful harvesting methods must be carried out. This would also imply that the distances between the olive grove and the oil mill are as short as possible. The harvesting and selection of olives Discover the key aspects of the process that must be followed to obtain an EVOO of great flavor and quality: First, you must know in which season of the year the olive harvest takes place. There are some differences depending on the region, climate, and olive variety, but, normally, it takes place between the months of October and January. Likewise, there are multiple factors that determine the quantity and quality of the oil obtained from the olive. Some of them are the health status and maturity of the fruit. The riper the olive, the more oil is obtained, as it concentrates a greater quantity of juice to extract. Conversely, when the olive is still green and less ripe, it is more difficult to extract an abundant quantity of oil. In exchange for that condition, there are certain appreciable benefits in the taste and smell, much more intense and enhanced. Therefore, the harvesting of these green oils, produced at the beginning of the harvest, stand out for their notable flavor and bitter and spicy notes. Thus, they become great enhancers of the flavor of dishes. The moment to harvest olives Despite being on the same tree, olives do not necessarily mature at the exact same rate. There are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determine the transformation each olive undergoes, such as its orientation and hours of sunlight it receives. As you can see, this is not simple at all; it requires knowledge and practice to achieve the correct oil extraction. Control must be maintained at different stages, as all this affects the yield, given the quantity of oil that can be extracted per olive, as well as its quality, which will be marked by its organoleptic qualities, that is, the smell and taste, more or less fruity. Controlling the olive harvest also influences its content, which can be higher or lower in polyphenols and natural antioxidants. Colder high-mountain areas require a slightly later harvest of the picual olive. Depending on the weather conditions of the year, in mid or late October, the harvest begins with the collection of greener olives to extract the early Picualvariety. Throughout November, slightly riper olives are harvested, from which the envero oil is obtained (formerly considered early, but with current earlier harvests, this becomes slightly later than early). Olive harvesting methods The characteristics of the crop, as well as its olive trees, determine the olive harvesting system, from the most traditional to more modern techniques. Tradition in olive harvesting In order to produce an exceptional oil and respecting tradition, olive harvesting is carried out manually. This method is called milking. If teams of olive pickers with nets, poles, and small machinery are used, it is called beating. It is common to have teams of tall olive pickers who beat or pull the nets. Thus, the fruit falls onto a blanket or inverted umbrella. Mechanized harvesting Using different vibration methods, which consist of shaking the branches or trunk of the olive tree using machinery. There are branch shakers and shakers that can facilitate the work and allow access to areas that are somewhat more inaccessible for machinery. Other useful machines in highly mechanized fields are sweeper-collectors or vacuum cleaners. Complementing tradition with technological innovation Today, tradition is combined with technological innovation, acting in a coordinated manner in the harvesting process. The purpose of this is to avoid damaging this delicate fruit, and therefore, "milking" or manual harvesting is carried out. Following this, they are placed in perforated boxes and transported in containers. Here, the cleaning of the smaller olives begins, along with their branches and leaves. The next step will be exhaustive control to offer a homogeneous final product. It will be determined which olives are suitable for each elaboration. Once checked and produced, our Picual Variety EVOO will be available and ready for consumption. This is part of the history surrounding the production of liquid gold, the extra virgin olive oil from Ad Morum. What are you waiting for to get yours? Visit our store!

A tour of the varieties of olives

Jun 29, 2023

Are you able to recognize the most common olive varieties and identify the differences between each of them? At Aceites Ad Morum, passionate about liquid gold and its richness, we are experts. We will teach you all the secrets!

The flowering of the olive tree: a natural spectacle

Jun 14, 2023

The olive tree blossoming is a unique and special moment in the life of this tree, so representative of our land. At Ad-Morum, we appreciate these beautiful moments while also celebrating it as part of the production process of our beloved Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The parts that make up our olive tree

May 3, 2023

The olive tree is a very important tree in Mediterranean culture, known for its production of olives and olive oil. At Ad-Morum, we greatly value the olive growing tradition and the need to know the different parts of this great fruit tree.

The land of Jaén as a place of choice for olive trees. Where does the tradition come from?

Mar 22, 2023

At Ad Morum, we owe everything to our land and its history, which gave us the fortune of producing "green gold," Jaén's Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This is our tradition and great passion. Jaén, everything behind the olive tree There is a history behind the olive groves in Jaén and how this province has earned its identity as the "World Capital of Olive Oil." We recognize Jaén as the largest producer of Olive Oil, generating 20% of the world's production. The production of EVOO has become the most relevant economic activity within the province. Jaén has the largest olive grove plantation, with approximately 70 million olive trees and 586,000 hectares. This accounts for 42% of the total olive grove area in Andalusia and 25% of Spain's. 78% of Jaén's surface area is dedicated to olive cultivation for oil mills. Not only that, but this province has a high level of top-tier companies in the service and administration sectors, along with other renowned agricultural and food companies. The origin and roots of olive cultivation in Jaén Phoenician colonies are responsible for introducing the first olive trees from Mesopotamia. These olive trees originated from one of the oldest oil mills in the world: Aleppo, the heart of present-day Syria. The introduction of olive trees to the Iberian Peninsula began in the Levante region, spreading across the Mediterranean area and into southern Andalusia, with Jaén and Cordoba leading olive oil production in the 1st century. Thus, 2,000 years ago, Jaén and Cordoba became the major oil suppliers to the Roman Empire. We can proudly assert that Olive Oil has been part of Jaén and Andalusia's history for 2,000 years. Throughout the Roman era, olive oil was exported from Andalusia to the metropolis, with its importance and interest in the region growing in subsequent periods such as the Middle Ages and modernity. From the 19th century onwards, with the introduction of irrigation and improved communication infrastructure, oil production grew in terms of both plantations and global sales. Over time, the revaluation of Extra Virgin Olive Oil as a quality product has fostered interest, earning it a high level of regard. Olive oil cultivation in Jaén today The quality that distinguishes Olive Oil today is justified by the continuous improvement and innovation in oil mill production techniques. The creation of designations of origin in the province of Jaén aims to guarantee and supervise manufacturing processes. Currently, in our province, the Picual olive variety is predominantly cultivated. Experts in the sector affirm that the fruit of the Picual olive tree is recognized as the best for oil production. This variety is the most prominent in the market, with Picual olives accounting for 30% of global production. In smaller quantities, other olive varieties such as Arbequina, Hojiblanca, and Manzanilla are cultivated. The olive tree needs some cold, but it is also characterized by its resistance to warm and dry conditions. It can produce better with some water stress, which was decisive when deciding where to plant. In this case, Jaén is characterized by a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, where average-warm temperatures prevail, a perfect climate for cultivating olive trees. At Ad Morum, we uphold the olive-growing tradition of our land, while also committing to innovation and the new endeavor to promote sustainability in our sector. Now that you know its history, try Jaén's Picual Variety Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Take a look at our online store!