The olives that give the precious extra virgin olive oil come from our family farm in Puente Genil, where Cortijo El Canal is located, which gives our oil its name. Bushels of olive groves of the hojiblanca variety, a name that comes from the color of the underside of the leaf that gives the tree clarity and a silvery appearance in the distance.
THE HOJIBLANCO OLIVE TREE
Its area of influence extends through Andalusia, specifically to the east of the province of Seville, the south of Córdoba and the entire north of the province of Málaga. It can account for 16% of the Andalusian olive grove. Its use is both for “Californian” style black table olives due to the firm texture of its pulp, and for the production of oil.
Medium to good vigor, with long and fruitful branches, although somewhat pendulous. The crowns maintain a medium density and a regular leaf surface and are characterized by the light greenish gray color of their young wood. It withstands the cold well and adapts perfectly to limestone soils.
HOJIBLANCA OLIVES AND ITS OIL
Although with many oscillations, it is usually large to thick, reaching an average of 4.3 grams. Its shape is that of an almost perfect sphere with a high pulp/pit ratio, around 8.
The fruit also withstands the cold well. Its flowering lasts the first two weeks of May, having its fullness at the beginning of the second week. Ripening is somewhat late, from the end of November to the end of December, and once ripe it is resistant to detachment, making it difficult to harvest, coupled with its low oil yield, with an average of between 17-19%.
From the physical-chemical point of view, it has a very balanced composition of fatty acids with relatively lower saturated acids than in the rest of the oils of other varieties. Its composition is ideal from the nutritional point of view. Stability against oxidation is not high and it is recommended to keep these oils protected from light and without excessive oxygenation during storage.
From the organoleptic point of view, it presents an immense range of flavors, but the attributes of sweetness at the beginning of the tasting can be highlighted as common values, fresh grassy fruitiness in the aroma, slight bitterness of green fruit and other fruits that sometimes remind to a fruit salad, slightly spicy in the throat and a final almond aftertaste.