Majorcan “Night of Olive Oil” to be held in Palma on Friday

Joan Collins THE chapel of the Misericordia cultural centre in the Via Roma will be the setting for the presentation A drop of Majorcan Olive Oil at 7pm on Friday. It will be presented by the President of the Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, and the President of the Majorcan Oil Regulating Council, Pep Oliver. Speaking at his extensive olive groves in Soller, Pep Oliver said that “this will be an act to introduce Majorcan Olive Oil to the consumers. “The main reasons for this are: so that consumers will know about the characteristics of each oil, culinary, gastronomic and nutritional; so that they will understand the need for the production of olive oil in Majorca with the quality mark D.O. (Denominacion de Origen) to be subsidised by the public entities, because it deserves it and because the growing of olive trees is a big benefit for the island, tourism and culture. Lastly, so that they will learn to tell the difference between olive oil produced on Majorca which has the D.O. classification and oil of other origins which is merely bottled on Majorca”. Oliver said that “this initiative started three years ago from the need to protect Majorcan olive oil from the competition from oils from other areas. Now the D.O. has been given to it, regulated by the Oil Regulating Council. At the moment there are seven bottling companies, Aubocasser, in Manacor; Solivellas, in Alcudia; Olis de Soller, in Soller; Es Verger, in Esporles; Son Fortuny, in Estellencs; and San Font Garrover, in Mancor de la Vall. This oil with the exquisite bouquet is obtained from the olive varieties argequina, picual and Majorcan or empeltre, and is sold in bottles of a quarter, half and three quarters of a litre, and carafes of five litres. It can be used in the kitchen, but its flavour and quality can be better appreciated if it is taken cold (e.g. used as a salad dressing). Oliver talked about price, confirming that “to make a quality oil the yield per kilo of olives is not much. We cannot compete in quantity but we can in quality. In comparison with the initial amount bottled in 2004, we increased that by 87 percent in 2005, and this year up to the end of August we had sold the same quantity as in the whole of last year. We hope to reach 80'000 litres by the end of this year”.