Empeltre is a type of medium-sized, black

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

originating in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is used both as a table olive and to produce a high-quality olive oil. ''Empeltre'' olives are primarily grown in the Spanish regions of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. It is present along the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

river basin from the Rioja and

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

to the

province of Castellón Castellón (); co-officially in ) is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. T ...

and southern

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, (where it is also called "Terra Alta" and "De la Llei"). There are 80,000 hectares of this variety in Spain. In the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

there are plantations in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(Mendoza and Córdoba).

Distribution

The ''Empeltre'' cultivar is grown in the communities and regions of

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, and

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

, as well as

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

and

and Castellón. It is the main variety in the Denomination of Origin ''Oil of the Bajo Aragón''.

Agronomic characteristics

The term ''empeltre'' is related to the Catalan word ''empelt'' or the Aragonese ''impelte'', which means "

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...

". This is due to the fact that this type of olive tree has a very low rooting capacity, which forces the graft to be derived as a form of reproduction. The olive trees of the Empeltre variety have a large wingspan as well as bright dark green leaves and early maturing black olives. They have a long form, asymmetrical and slightly pumped by the back. They have an average volume of 2.7 grams with a pulp / bone ratio of 5:3 and a yield of 18.3%. The empeltre variety provides a yellow-colored smooth oil that is sweet and aromatic with no bitterness.

Synonyms

''Aceite'' (De), also ''Castellana'', ''Cornicabra'', ''Lechin de Granada'', ''Picual'', ''Aragones'', ''Aragonesa'', ''Aragonesa de Tortosa'', ''Comùn'', ''Farga'', ''Fina'', ''Injerto'', ''Llei'', ''Macho'', ''Mallorquina'' in the

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

area only., ''Navarro'', ''Negra'', ''Negral'', ''Negral de Calatayud'', ''Negral Fino'', ''Negrala'', ''Negreta'', ''Salseña'', ''Terra Alta'', ''Tordero'', ''Verdiel'', and ''Zaragozana''. Related: ''Callosina'', ''Morisca'', ''Cornezuelo de Jaén'', ''Cornicabra de Baza'', ''Cornicabra de Jerez de los Caballeros'', and ''Cornicabra de Mérida''.Olea Database: ''Empeltre''
Retrieved 2018-07-10

References

External links

Directly from the oldest olive trees in Spain comes the Empeltre olive
{{Olives Olive cultivars

Distribution

Agronomic characteristics

Synonyms

See also

References

External links