Madrid's Olive Oil

Updated: 14/06/18 | 17:00

Madrid’s olive oil is high-quality steady, with a fruity, complicated, and intense aroma, and its taste is a perfect balance between bitter and hot. It has a low acidity, and a bright yellow color with a touch of green around the edges.

One thing that makes this olive oil so special is its fatty acid and sterols content. This is a long-lasting oil that maintains its smell, taste, and beneficial properties over time.

This oil is made with the variety of olives called Cornicabra and Manzanilla (as well as verdeja, picual, cacereña, carrascueña, and others, but they are used less). These types of olives are the ones best suited for the climate around Madrid.

The Cornicabra olive is mostly found in Castilla La Mancha, where it originally comes from, but we find that they are also perfectly adapted to Madrid. The plant produces a high yield of fruit, and that fruit in turn produces very stable olive oil. This fruit has received a lot of attention for its peculiar shape. This particular olive, is curved like a horn. Despite its odd shape, this olive is considered one of the most notable for its organoleptic characteristics.

The Manzanilla variety is not very vigorous, it’s early, and it has a very interesting quality both as an oil and a fruit. It occupies the entire area that surrounds the Sistema Central, especially on its southern slopes and Extremadura. It is also in Ávila and Salamanca as well as in Madrid, taking refuge in the region called Las Vegas. In addition to being the most appreciated olive oil variety for the dinner table, it also produces a very high-quality oil that is very stable. Its aroma is fruity with a hint of green herbs.

The Denominación de Origen for the Aceite de Madrid pertains to the olive farms that can be found to the south of the city. They are mostly concentrated in the regions of La Campiña, the southwest, and Las Vegas. It is made in 97 municipalities within the community of Madrid. These municipalities fall in a zone of extreme conditions, with harsh temperatures in the summer and winter and little rainfall. In addition, the soil in this region is shallow, alkaline, and salty.

You can purchase this oil at its source at the following places: Aranjuez, Cadalso de los Vidrios, Loeches, and Patones.