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The ABCs of Olive Oil: Q to Z

The ABCs of Olive Oil: Q to Z

2021-04-16

Discovering the story of olive oil is as simple as A-B-C!

Our final round-up of all things olive oil from A to Z! If you’re joining us for the first time then please make sure you check out parts one and two before moving on. Well, you could read this part first if you wanted but, as the alphabet police would tell you, that’s totally out of order!

Are you ready for more? Of course you are...here we go!

Q is for Quality

Any experienced chef will tell you that if you want quality outcomes in the kitchen, then you’re going to need to use quality ingredients. And that’s everything from centrepiece to seasoning - so don’t settle for any old oil if you’re trying to cook up a storm! Trust us, you don't do your dishes any favours by starting with the best of one ingredient and then ‘making do’ with the rest.

At La Española, we are incredibly passionate about providing an authentic taste of Spain to our friends all around the world and do our best to provide the highest quality olive oils for you to use. From our environmentally-sensitive harvesting methods to our traditional, cold-pressed production, every step of the journey is crafted to create a premium olive oil. If high quality olive oil is important to you, then we promise you are in good hands with La Española.

R is for Roasting

We often hear that people are worried about using olive oil at higher temperatures, such as when roasting veggies, due to the release of toxic gas at lower smoke points. But this is very misleading, which means there are many of you who may well be missing out on perfectly roasted potatoes because of the misinformation! So let’s set the record straight...

Olive oil is fine for cooking at higher temperatures. Yes, Extra Virgin Olive Oils do have a lower smoking point than some of our other oils which is why we recommend Extra Virgin for seasoning and dressings. For roasting, you cannot beat our Pure Olive Oil which boasts a beautifully subtle character that is less likely to overpower your food and, in case you’re still worried, a much higher smoking point. What will you be roasting?

It seems we’ve been doing a lot of mythbusting recently!
If you’d like to read more then check out this blog post, and this one!

S is for Spout

There were some easy S-words that we could have chosen here - Spanish olives sourced from Seville, Smoking points and Suggested Servings...but where’s the fun in the obvious?! Instead, we’re going to take this time to showcase one of La Española’s best-kept-secrets: our beloved pouring spout!

Our spout is not something we shout about very often, but it has proven to be quite the fan favourite feature. Effortlessly controlling the flow, this rather humble piece of plastic allows all our foodie family and friends to experience the perfect pour - each and every time. Overlooked and underrated, our spout has been an unsung hero in our campaign to deliver the best kitchen experience to our customers.

What do you think of our handy pouring spout?
Come and comment your reviews on Facebook or Instagram!

T is for Tesco

You read that right, T is for Tesco! The La Española team works hard to maintain a strong connection to UK supermarkets, making it even easier for you to track down your authentic taste of Spain as part of your weekly shop.

Alongside Tesco, you will find La Española olive oils in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and keep an eye on our Facebook or Instagram for all the latest promotions and discounts!

It’s been almost a year since we announced our partnership with Tesco.
Have you seen La Española in the aisles?

U is for UK leaders!

More specifically, we’re referring to La Española being recognised (again!) as the top Spanish olive oil producer in the UK! Yes, we know it’s a shameless boast, but we are incredibly proud of the hard work our teams have done to earn the title of UK’s fastest growing, fan-favourite olive oil.

"La Española is bucking the olive oil trend and fast becoming the UK's favourite brand of Spanish olive oil thanks to impeccable credentials and consumer passion for truly authentic ingredients"

With almost two centuries of rich history, La Española is proudly recognised as the oldest olive oil company in Spain and has grown to become a trusted world leader in quality olive oil. We take great pride in our heritage and hold ourselves to the highest standards, and are delighted to be sharing this journey with our foodie family in the UK!

V is for Vegan

For anyone looking to control their diet and stick to plant-powered produce, our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a great option. It may be stating the obvious for some of you, but olive oil is pure fruit juice. As such, it’s completely natural and 100% vegan. This is great news for people who follow plant-based diets, especially as Extra Virgin Olive Oil is widely recognised as being one of the most healthy foods.

As we mentioned in the previous part of our A to Z series, we prefer the approach of ‘no additives, no preservatives, no colouring, no nonsense’. So if meat-free matters to you, feel free to go to town on the olive oil in your cooking! Speaking of which, don’t miss our 100% vegan Spanish recipes!

W is for Where can I...?

Looking for something in particular? Here’s a shortcut to all our most popular content:

Where can I find Spanish recipes?
Where can I learn more about La Espñola?
Where can I trace my extra virgin olive oil bottle?
Where can I download your free eBooks and guides?
Where can I learn about Olive Oil beauty tips?
Where can I buy my La Española Olive Oil?
Where can I learn about Olive Oil with Truffle?

Looking for something not on the list? Drop us a message on social media and we’ll point you in the right direction.

X is for X

...and by ‘X’ we mean the number ten in Roman numerals! Why is ten important? As well as being the number we’d award each of our oils on a scale of one to ten, it’s also the number of olive oil facts you can find in one of our favourite blog posts!

Check it out here: 10 Amazing Facts About Olive Oil. How many do you think you will already know?

Wow, some of these letters are getting tricky!
Who’s idea was it to do the full alphabet?! Oh yes...

Y is for Yellow

Yellow olive oil is better than green olive oil, right? Wrong! The idea that green olive oil tastes nicer and is of higher quality is an urban myth we hear a lot. The colour of the oil is mostly determined by the variety of olives used to produce the oil, or even the ripeness at time of harvest. Unripe olives do create greener olive oil, whereas ripened purple-black olives produce golden-yellow oil. However, the fact that the olive oil is yellow or green does not necessarily tell us that the oil is of a better quality.

Y is also for You

Yes, YOU! If you’re still reading this then we’d like to thank you for your support! There are some difficult letters here and we’re glad you’ve stuck with us to the end. Now, it’s very tiring work coming up with words for every letter...maybe we’ll take a short rest before doing the next one...and just lie down here...and close our eyes…*yawn*

Z is for Zzzzz

….zzzzz.

Olive Oil from A to Z

Hey! Thanks for joining us on this adventure through the alphabet! Remember to go back and look at parts one and two if you haven’t already!

Did you predict what words we would use for each letter? Do you have your own words to submit? Then we’d love to hear from you! Send your comments, messages and submissions to us on Facebook or Instagram!

Hasta la próxima!