Index – Culture – Central Europe has the largest oil treasure in Pomáz

The peoples of the Mediterranean are in an enviable position compared to us. In the sense that they don’t have to collect it once a year, but twice a year: first the grape and then the olive for a few months.

Even if this is not true, it is certain that these narrow-waisted, gnarled evergreens originated in the eastern Mediterranean and covered the lands that Greek and Phoenician settlers had taken with them since ancient times.

Due to the oil obtained from the tree’s berries, it would have been planted more widely, but being a delicate plant, it is difficult to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations: below -12 ° C it immediately freezes the seeds (but does not tolerate cold to – 4-5 ° C long term).

However, the fruit, and the greenish-yellow juice that is extracted from it, is what makes the olive tree worth dealing with. Not surprisingly, Homer has already called olive oil liquid gold, which was used not only for food and religion in ancient times, but also for chandelier lighting, healing, skin and hair care. Even in contemporary racing, athletes smear themselves with this oil to make it difficult for the opponent to catch them.

They pour and drip all over the world.

Olive oil would have remained in the common kitchen of the Mediterranean regions if it had not been a culinary specialty of Italians settled in the United States. Starting in the 1920s, Italy’s exports gained momentum and then, thanks to the health-conscious gastrorevolution of the 1970s, demand increased further, which was already dominated by Portuguese, Spanish and Greek producers.

but new areas like p. ex. Kuwait (a total of half a thousand producers are present in 53 countries on five continents). Of course, there is a big difference between olive oils extracted with the same technology, since in addition to the hundreds of varieties and clones grown, the cultivation method, but also the terroir, is decisive, as is the case with wines. .

Similarly, the plant takes years to bear fruit, proper pruning, earthworks, plant protection, and in some cases drip irrigation are important. Both appreciate the care with the fruit, it is true that a lower quality juice can be obtained from the olive: 1 liter of 6-8 kilograms.

On the other hand, the olive tree is still alive, because while the oldest vineyard in Europe has approx. It is half a thousand years old (located in Maribor), while in Croatia and Italy there are also registered trees that are still growing today, which are at least two thousand years old.

Olive oil categories

(passing high quality):

• Extra virgin – pressed directly from fresh fruit. Excipients are not used. Its acid content is a maximum of 0.8 percent.
• It is made by virgin cold pressing in the same way as its extra companion, but the quality of the fruit is no longer taken as strictly as acidity shows: it can reach up to 2 percent.
• Olive oil: water, heat or even chemicals are used after the first pressing or to extract additional oil from the beginning. In almost all cases, a mixture of oil. Acidity greater than 3.3 percent.
• Sansa, pomace, lampante, etc. – The pressed oil fraction is immersed in warm water and a petroleum derivative called hexane and then pressed again. It is not a quality product.

Therefore, it is worth looking for quality olive oil in specialized stores as quality wine. Fortunately, there are more and more of these in Hungary, but two of them stand out.

1. Giuseppe’s shop near Oktogon, where you can choose between the oils of Italian family producers. There are more pronounced and smooth flavors, fruity or spicy versions, as well as flavored ones, where the citrus fruit or its skin mix between the olives during the pressing of the fruit, thus extracting an exciting mixture.
2. The other oil center is in a cozy farmhouse in Pomáz It can be found. Gusztáv Tóth imports mainly Spanish and Portuguese artisan oils, in such quantities and selections that it has become the largest trader in Central Europe. He is also in constant contact with producers and does not want to return even a full load to them if its quality is lower than usual. Of course, this does not mean that an oil should always be the same every year, as the vintage can also show serious differences for these products, but not at the expense of quality.

If you want to choose a quality extra virgin olive oil, color is the least important consideration. It’s often more of a confounder in terms of taste perception, which is why dark glasses are used for tasting in more serious oil tests.

• In the case of quality olive oils, the variety, the name of the producer and the vintage are indicated (TTT rule – producer, type, terroir).
• The difference in taste between filtered and unfiltered extra virgin olive oils is negligible in favor of unfiltered ones, but it’s worth noting that it remains shorter than its filtered counterpart.
• If we store the open but closed bottle in a cool, dark place, it will retain its original flavor and quality for the last six months.
• A true gourmet should definitely visit a store where they can taste it (you will only find one after the Covid period). In a hand-warmed glass or spoon, the aroma comes first, which can be grassy, ​​floral, spicy green, buttery, or tomato.
• After tasting, it is worth paying attention to the taste notes: fruitiness, bitterness, pungency, duration of taste. Depending on this, it is worth putting together a selection that also has softer and more characteristic oils so that we can combine them harmoniously with food.

(Cover image: Bakcsy Árpád Zoltán / Index)