Virgin Olive Oil Gran Canaria is the island in the Canaries with the highest land surface area dedicated to the cultivation of olives. They have been cultivated since time immemorial, around the edges of orchards and on the great sloping meadows to the southeast of the island. Olive trees and the harvesting of their fruit form part of the tradition of the local inhabitants of more rural settings who used to pour mojo sauce over olives and then used the leftovers to make olive oil through traditional stone mills and presses.
The varieties used for the production of these oils include Ver-
The increase in this cultivation has led to a possible new alterna-
dial de Huévar (or “locally grown” olives), Arbequina and Picual,
tive to maintain and bolster the local economy. Its great ability to adapt to a range of different environmental conditions, as well as its high agronomic, ethnographic and landscape value, has favoured its expansion. The table olive produced in this area, both in its raw form and with dressing, is currently a highly acclaimed product, and as such is an essential part of the island’s culinary offerings. Extra virgin olive oil nowadays is produced at modern olive presses set up all around the region, and is gaining the recognition and prestige it richly deserves.
which help to heighten their characteristic perception of taste and smell, combining to produce complex fruity sensations of medium intensity with subtle touches of fresh tomato and/or recently cut herbs, with an appreciable and balanced presence of spice and bitterness on the palate. The Cabildo de Gran Canaria’s “Gran Canaria Quality” seal protects these oils, guaranteeing that their manufacture has involved olives to have been exclusively harvested on the island and has followed a painstaking process that guarantee their quality.
Virgin Olive Oil
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