Jump to content

Picual

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Steven Walling (talk | contribs) at 05:54, 22 January 2016 (Reverted edits by 37.132.142.91 (talk) to last version by Rjwilmsi). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Picual
Picual olives in Catalonia
Olive (Olea europaea)
OriginSpain
UseOil, table

The Picual is an olive cultivar from Spain. Picual olives are the most commonly grown olive today for olive oil production,[1] with production centered in the Spanish province of Jaén.[2] Picual trees are estimated to account for 25% of all olive oil production in the world.[3][4] Naturally, this varietal is very high in oil content, at 20-27% by weight.[5][1]

Virgin olive oil from Picual olives have high levels of polyphenols (an organic compound which is known to have antioxidant effects),[3] typically between 300 and 700ppm.[4] Many Picual groves are primarily harvested when ripe or overripe to maximize oil content, and thus produce oil with poor taste qualities.[5][1] Less than one quarter of the harvest each year qualifies as Extra Virgin.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Paul M. Vossen (1 January 2007), Organic Olive Production Manual, UCANR Publications, pp. 8–9, ISBN 978-1-60107-440-9, retrieved 22 September 2013
  2. ^ "Influence of Harvest Date and Crop Yield on the Fatty Acid Composition of Virgin Olive Oils from Cv. Picual" (PDF), Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2004, doi:10.1021/jf049894n, PMID 15161211
  3. ^ a b Aranzazu García; Manuel Brenes; Concepción Romero; Pedro García; Antonio Garrido (2002), "Use of 1-acetoxypinoresinol to authenticate Picual olive oils", International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 37 (6), doi:10.1046/j.1365-2621.2002.00591.x
  4. ^ a b M. Brenes; A. García; J. J. Rios; P. García; A. Garrido (2002), "Study of phenolic compounds in virgin olive oils of the Picual variety", European Food Research and Technology, 215 (5): 407–412, doi:10.1007/s00217-002-0604-0
  5. ^ a b c Tom Mueller (5 December 2011), Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, W. W. Norton, ISBN 978-0-393-08348-4, retrieved 22 September 2013