Grades, green or ripe olives, varieties and how to store. What we explain at our mill tastings, in a five-minute read.
These are oils made from olives alone, by mechanical processes. What sets them apart is acidity and the official tasting.
The extra virgin has free acidity up to 0.8% and no defects on tasting: it is the highest grade. The virgin may go up to 2% and allows small defects.
You cannot taste acidity. It is measured in the lab, and at our mill it is checked by titration in every batch.
Below these two there are other grades also sold as olive oil, but they are no longer pure olive juice.
Quinta das Fiandeiras, Ouro da Fábrica Clássico, AV, Organic, Bag in Box, Tin and 5-litre demijohn.
5-litre jerrycan, for every day.
The five grades, from highest to lowest. Reading the label tells you which step you are on.
Olives turn from green to black over the harvest. The earlier they are picked, the more intense and longer-lasting the oil. The later, the milder it is and the more oil they give.
Certified organic production, with no synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. Ours comes from the Douro and Torto valleys.
Ouro da Fábrica OrganicThe olive paste is malaxed slowly, without heating, to keep the aromas and phenolic compounds.
How the mill worksDark bottle, tin or Bag in Box, tightly closed and away from the stove. That is how the oil rests in our vats.
Intensely fruity oils shine raw: bread, salads, boiled vegetables. Milder ones also suit everyday cooking.
Recipes from the millThe varieties we work with and what each brings to the blend. A good blended oil combines them for balance.
A sweet, delicate oil with ripe fruitiness and notes of almond and apple. Low in bitterness and pepperiness: it softens the blend and pleases first-time tasters.
Balanced: medium green fruitiness, bitterness and pepperiness present without dominating, notes of apple and olive leaf. Good yield and keeps well.
Intense green fruitiness, marked bitterness and pepperiness, herbaceous notes. Rich in antioxidants and very stable: it gives the Quinta's oil its intensity.
A sweet, mild oil with ripe fruitiness reminiscent of nuts and ripe apple. Low in bitterness, it rounds off the blends.
Intense fruitiness, with notes of tomato and grass. Medium to high bitterness and pepperiness, it gives structure and colour to the blend.
Tap an oil and see what you will find when tasting.
500 ml · Cobrançosa and Verdeal
From olive trees over 300 years old, on the slopes of Quinta das Fiandeiras. Careful selection and hand-picked harvest.
On the mill tour we taste two oils side by side, with local bread.
