Building an Olive Oil Destination in Úbeda

As vis­i­tors enter the Centro de Interpretación Olivar y Aceite – the Olive and Oil Interpretation Center – they walk into what at first glance appears only to be a shop.

However, this is not any museum gift shop. Located in Úbeda, a small his­toric town in Jaén, it is a sort of tem­ple to olive oil.

At the Interpretation Center, dozens of local olive oils are on offer, from Picual to Hojinlanca to Arbequina, pre­sented in bot­tles with pink foil, scenes of birds or abstract designs. There are olive oil cos­met­ics and lotions, choco­late bars made with olive oil and cook­books fea­tur­ing the region’s main lifeblood: olive oil.

For the last five years, this mul­ti­func­tional space has been a hub for Jaén’s olive oil sec­tor, where it offers tast­ing work­shops, cook­ing classes and demos, and pro­fes­sional train­ings on Corredera de San Fernando, a few min­utes’ walk from the Parador, a six­teenth-cen­tury Moorish Palace at the cen­ter of Úbeda.

The museum is run by the Olivar y Aceite Association, a non­profit orga­ni­za­tion whose objec­tive is the pro­mo­tion of Jaén’s olive oil. It is housed in an olive mill that was built in the 1930s.

It makes sense that vis­i­tors to the area will want to learn about olive oil. The ​“liq­uid gold” dom­i­nates the region’s land­scape, econ­omy, and cul­ture. Whether they enter by train or car, any vis­i­tor will notice olive trees stretched before them for miles, planted in straight rows, with sil­very leaves reflect­ing the sun­light. Olive groves cover gen­tle rolling hills which turn into moun­tains.

More than 220 mil­lion olive trees flour­ish in Jaén, the world’s largest cul­ti­vated sur­face area. Spain is the king of olive oil pro­duc­tion, and the region pro­duces more than 40 per­cent of Spanish olive oil, and a fifth of the olive oil in the entire world.

Visitors can take a tour that show­cases nearly every aspect of olive oil. A guide will begin with the olive groves them­selves – olive trees grow in the museum’s gar­den – through to the pro­duc­tion process of the olive oil.

Visitors will see both his­toric and mod­ern mills, along with pho­tos and videos that explore the his­tory of olive oil in the region. They will learn about its place at the heart of local gas­tron­omy and its numer­ous and pow­er­ful health ben­e­fits. They will also taste through sev­eral oils and get a crash course in sen­sory analy­sis as well as detect­ing attrib­utes and defects.

At the Interpretation Center, there really is some­thing for every­one. Visitors can embark on a tour of nearby olive groves. Workshops are offered for kids of all ages. Tastings and train­ings are held for begin­ners, experts, and pro­fes­sion­als. The Center hosts events for both tourists and the local com­mu­nity.

They also offer ​“oleo­tur­ismo” pack­ages where vis­i­tors can see mills, pro­duc­ers, and restau­rants through­out the region. More than 25 dif­fer­ent olive oil classes are taught each year, and the tast­ing club brings together ama­teurs and pro­fes­sion­als to taste through local oils.

An undis­puted high­light of a visit to the Interpretation Center is down­stairs, where the Center hosts what they call ​“show cook­ing.” It is the end of the jour­ney for the olive oil, and vis­i­tors can watch local chefs cook both tra­di­tional and mod­ern cre­ations, and then enjoy the result­ing fla­vors.

Olive oil stars in the region’s quin­tes­sen­tial dishes, such as cochifrito, suc­cu­lent pork meat fried in gar­lic and olive oil, rich lamb stew, and rabo de toro, bull tail braised in olive oil and red wine.

When Olive Oil Times vis­ited in November, Chef Javier Blasque served foie gras with white choco­late and plum cake. The dish was served with a syringe of Picual, whose spicy, bright fla­vor cut through the rich­ness beau­ti­fully. A mousse of wild mush­rooms got a smooth kick from Arbequina olive oil and a sweet crunch from pome­gran­ate seeds.

For dessert, Blasque cre­ated an emul­sion of 30 per­cent cocoa but­ter and 70 per­cent Arbequina extra vir­gin olive oil, which he used to make both rice pud­ding and a fluffy olive oil cake.

“There really are end­less pos­si­bil­i­ties,” Blasque said as he passed out small slices of his still warm cake.