Argentine Food A Natural Choice
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ocated in the Southern end of the American continent between parallels 22 and 54, with a widespread territory covering almost 290 million hectares –more than 170 of them devoted to agricultural productionArgentina is worldwide known by its tango, its soccer and the quality of its grains and beef. This geographical vastness -according to its surface it is the eight country- with a climate variety that ranges from subtropical to mild cold provides this land with a series of a rich and varied ecosystems with a natural capacity for food production.
This feature attracted an important inmigration flow between the last decades of the XIX century and the first decades of the XX century. European, Arabian and Asian people spread out into the different regiones of the country, with their dreams, their tradition and their production and consumer habits. So many and diverse idiosyncrasies integrated in such a vast country generated, as time went by, a different culture that today opens to the world and offers its best: its food.
Argentine Food. A Natural Choice.
Argentine Olive Culture
450 years of History
History tells that Argentine olive culture began in the XVI Century, when Spanish conquerors that came from Alto Peru started the first plantations in what today is known as La Rioja province, specifically The Arauco Valley. This homeland gave name to this homonymous variety, which is the result of crossing different verieties from the Sapnish Mediterranean coast. As time went by, olive culture spread territorially North and South, always firm on Andean Valley grounds. This dry soil, irrigated by thaw water, with wide thermal range, scarce rainfall and an extraordinary brightness, is the privileged environment fot its development.
The massive immigration, mainly of Latin origin of the late XIX Century and following decades increased the demand of olive oil and olives. This, the Spanish Civil War and World War II, helped expand the national olive culture activity. Nevertheless, the growth process was not lineal. Expansion and contraction cycles took turns. In the ‘60s only 5 million olive trees were in production. Today argentine olive culture covers around 90.000 hectares with more 32 million trees. Of these 70% are young trees of varieties requested by the world, which have just begun their productive cycle.
This productive growth is accompanied by a modern industry not only businesslike but also in all the productive processes; which combine the most modern production technologies with a system that privileges the absence of preservatives and agrochemicals. This reassures high quality standards and an extreme natural purity.
The Future is Growth for Argentine Olive Culture. Olive Oils and Olives. Excellence and Natural Purity
Olive Oils New World’s Quality
Excellent olive oil is obtained combining four factors. Subtropical dry climate, wide thermal range, scarce rainfall and more than 300 sunny days with extreme brightness. Airy soil, rich in nutrients and adequate irrigation systems. The olive tree must comply with an exceptional genetic. And man’s know-how that, with extreme care, modern production systems, quality controls and a delicate sensitivity
for flavor and aromas, must go hand in hand with the fruit so that it can find its expression in a great oil.
Argentina offers oils of premium quality: varietals, bi-varietals, virgin, extra virgin, organic and now also “blends”.
Argentine olive culture fulfils these four conditions. And today stands as the main producing country outside the Mediaterranean basin. This also explains why in the last years its presence has grown in the international markets, becoming one of the main olive oil exporters.
Soft or Intense Flavored Oils. Nature’s Flavor Oils. Oils from Argentina.
VARIETIES • • • • • •
Arauco Arbequina Barnea Coratina Changot Real Cornicabra
• • • • • •
Empeltre Farga Frantoio Manzanilla Aceitera Nevadillo Picual
Olives International Prestige The olive production in Argentina is situated in the Andean valleys. This region where the climate is dry (less than 300 mm. of rain a year), the intensity of sunlight is high, the thermal range very wide and pollution unknown, is the argentine homeland of olives. These are voluptuous, well shaped and with an excellent relationship between pulp and bone or stone. The varieties, Arauco and Manzanilla, are delicate, tasty, firm and of subtle pulp.
The incorporation of new olive trees, modern technologies in each stage of the productive process and strict systems to guarantee quality, resulted in a qualitative and quantitative leap. This combination between naturalness and technology allowed argentine olives to gain space in the international markets, with quality and purity as “leit motiv”. According to COI, Argentina is the second country exporting table olives. Destination markets are spread all over America, reaching South Africa, Oceania and the Pacific Asia Basin.
Well Known Olives Prestigious Olives Argentine Olives. VARIETIES • Arauco • Empeltre • Manzanilla
• Black or Green - With or without bone
Stuffed Olives Flavors and Textures from the South High quality raw material is of great important in the production of high quality food. To reach this goal, an efficient management and quality control systems are necessary at every step. But in the production of gourmet food, something else is essential: man´s creative capacity
Gourmet sutffed are a result of this creative capacity. Olives of high quality are treated to enhance determinated flavor and textures. This creativity has also allow to expand the offer to stuffed olives, Arauco or Manzanilla, green or black, stuffed with garlic, capers, red peppers, pistachios, almond, nuts, truffles, sardine or trout paste.
VARIETIES Arauco or Manzanilla Olives Stuffed with: • • • •
Garlic Capers Red Peppers Almonds
• Pistachios • Truffles • Anchovy, sardine or trout paste.
Stuffed Olives with Subtle Flavors Stuffed olives with Delicate Textures Argentine Olives.
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Central
Cuyo
NorthWest Patagonia
The Pampean plain is one of the richest ecosystems on the planet and offers the magic of a vast territory of distant horizons. In this marvelous scenery two olive culture areas are found; one to the South, close to the Atlantic coast, and the other to the northwest, in the mountainous region that precedes the Andes. This represents 9% of the existing argentine olive culture.
This region leans on the foothills of the Andes, crossed by irrigation channels where thaw water runs transforming a dry rugged zone into fertile soil.
This is a mountainous region that in its North and West borders reaches 4000 meters above sea level. Towards the center rough lands cut the scenery, bursting into yellows, browns and reds that transform into subtropical valleys or plains. Towards the South, rugged and rocky plains feature the scenery. Finally, in the valleys of the Andean foothills olives flourish. This region represents 28% of the national productive capacity of olive culture.
Different shades of green cover this land,fruit and vineyards grow, and obviously olives flourish. Cuyo concentrates 62% of the surface devoted to olive culture.
The Andes exhibit a great part of its grandeur in the Patagonia. Very ancient and silent forests with native species stretch along the shores of majestic lakes. This region has been lately incorporated to the argentine olive map, and with a very small percentage of the national surface, has given birth to the world’s most southern olive culture. .
Argentine Food, a natural choice With the sole object of promoting and preserving the authenticity of Argentine Food, the National Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food designed the Quality Label: “Argentine Food, a natural choice� which allows the enterprises that comply with a number a requisites to obtain the recognition of the consumers according to a quality that satisfies their expectations or a determined flavor.
This offer clients and consumers a guarantee that the products are elaborated according to specific characteristics and above all it awards/grants a special badge to argentine food that present characteristic and constant value attributes.
Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimentos
Programa de Servicios Agrícolas Provinciales
proargex@prosap.gov.ar