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Characteristics of the olive tree and olives

Physiology and Characteristics of the Olive Tree and Olive Oil

The Olive Tree is the plant of Olea Europaea, typically Mediterranean, it can grow up to 20 meters in height, hardy, very long-lived, drought-resistant, but sensitive to low temperatures.
Its cultivation area is the Mediterranean basin which includes countries such as Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Israel and within the EU, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy.
In Italy, the highest distribution of the olive tree is found in Puglia, Calabria, and Sicily and further north in Lazio, Tuscany, and Liguria, reaching Lombardy in mild hilly areas like the lakes of Como and Garda. (The History and Origins of the Olive Tree).
The Italian olive-growing surface area, which represents one-third of the world total, is 2 million hectares, of which 1.1 million hectares are in specialized cultivation and the others mixed; the annual production of olives averages 3 million tons and the oil production varies from 300,000 to 500,000 tons depending on climatic conditions and the tree’s physiological production alternation.
The quantity of olives per tree ranges from 30 to 60 kg, hence the average production per hectare of a modern olive grove ranges from 80 to 100 quintals. The average oil yield varies between 13 – 20%.
The varieties of olive cultivated in Italy are mostly for oil; the main ones are: Coratina, Frantoio, Leccino, Carolea, Ogliarola, Cellina di Nardò.

Characteristics of the Olive Tree and Olives

The olive is a drupe weighing 1-5 g, and from its formation (fruit set) to maturity, it undergoes numerous transformations, at the end of which one can distinguish: the skin (epicarp) for 1.5 – 3.5%, the pulp (mesocarp) for 70 – 80%, the pit (endocarp) for 15 – 25%, and the kernel (seed) for 2.5 – 4%.

Chemically, it is composed of:
a) vegetative water 40 – 55%;
b) oil 15 – 35% (of which 95 – 98% in the pulp and 2 – 5% in the seed);
c) hemicellulose and cellulose 3 – 5%;
d) monosaccharides 2%;
e) nitrogenous substances 1.5 – 2%;
f) pectic substances 1 – 2%;
g) diglycerides, monoglycerides, free fatty acids, glycosphingolipids, sterols, hydrocarbons, chlorophyll terpenes, tocopherols;
h) oleuropein, a phenolic glucoside with antioxidant properties that helps, along with other phenolic compounds, to define the organoleptic characteristics of the oil;
i) pheophytins, whose content is correlated with the chlorophyll index.

Technical data sheet:
– viscous liquid ranging from yellow to green;
– one liter of oil weighs from 910 to 916 grams;
– melting point from 5° to 7° C;
– solidification point around +2° C;
– critical temperature 210° C.

BASIC OIL TASTING KIT

FREE ORDER

The KIT is a sample pack of 2 bottles of extra virgin olive oil: Fruity and Balanced. You only pay €16.50 for shipping from Italy
Tasting kit of Puglian extra virgin olive oil from Salento, free of charge, complimentary
Tasting kit of Puglian extra virgin olive oil from Salento, free of charge, complimentary
BASIC OIL TASTING KIT

FREE ORDER

The KIT is a sample pack of 2 bottles of extra virgin olive oil: Fruity and Balanced. You only pay €16.50 for shipping from Italy