O Melhor do Ribatejo (2026)


O MELHOR DO RIBATEJO – EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL - MONOVARIETAL “GALEGA”

This is a premium monovarietal olive oil, 100% pure, obtained from the “Galega” olive variety.

PROPERTIES
This olive oil is cold extracted in a traditional olive mill.
The olive harvest campaign takes place once a year, between October and December, producing a new batch.
The olives are delivered to the mill only a few hours after being harvested, and the transformation process into olive oil begins immediately.
This mill has been producing olive oil for several generations since 1937.
It has recently been renovated and modernized with new equipment while preserving traditional techniques and knowledge.
This is a pure olive oil, extracted by mechanical cold-pressing processes and only from the first extraction, where the fruit pulp is immediately transformed into oil. The oil is then naturally decanted in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
Due to its low acidity, no additives or chemical products are used, making it a 100% natural product.
This olive oil has a maximum acidity of 0.2%, which makes it unique and of superior quality.
This product is vegan, which today brings significant commercial advantages.
The shelf life of this olive oil is 18 months after packaging.
It should be stored in a dry, cool place, away from direct sunlight.
Due to its 100% natural characteristics, the olive oil may become cloudy, form sediment, or even solidify if exposed to low temperatures (e.g., harsh and cold winters).
This is a normal phenomenon in high-quality olive oils.
In such cases, the integrity of the olive oil is maintained at 100%; it only needs to be kept at a mild temperature to naturally return to its liquid and clear state without any change in its properties.

SENSORY ANALYSIS
This is a very velvety olive oil, with green fruity notes coming predominantly from ripe olives, smooth and slightly sweet on the palate with a light spicy touch.
The dominant flavor is dried fruits, especially almonds and walnuts.

USAGE TIPS
. Simply spread on plain bread, toasted bread, or toast as a healthier alternative to butter or margarine.
The olive oil can be served raw as a seasoning for various dishes:
. On plain bread, toasted bread, or toast as a healthier substitute for butter or margarine.
. To finish salads. It is commonly used in tomato salad with onion and oregano, raw or cooked vegetables, fresh or cured cheese, olive snacks with pepper, garlic, and oregano, among other appetizers.
. Excellent for sautéing, oven-baked stews, pasta, and potatoes.
. To finish cooked, grilled, or stewed fish.
. To seal steaks and cook all types of meat.
. As a base for vinaigrette sauce and others.
. Can be used in cakes, traditional breads, puddings, chocolate mousse, ice cream, especially vanilla pod desserts, which surprisingly combine these flavors.
. With fruits (e.g., pineapple).
. In frying, replacing oil, margarine, or butter.
Foods absorb less fat and obtain a crispier texture.
Frying temperature occurs at around 160°C, and the olive oil is not damaged, since degradation only begins above 210°C.

THE “GALEGA” VARIETY
This “Galega” olive variety is exclusively Portuguese, being the oldest olive variety in Portugal and widely cultivated, representing about 80% of the olive grove area in the country.
It is mainly grown in the central and southern regions of Portugal.
Trees of this variety are low and compact and may not be very productive. Their fruits are pointed in shape and are generally small, with less pulp than other varieties.
For this reason, this olive is less productive than other Portuguese varieties, requiring on average 10 kg of olives to produce 1 liter of olive oil (yield of 10%).
In comparison, the “Cobrançosa” variety has a yield of 20%, since only 5 kg of olives are needed to produce 1 liter of olive oil (twice the productivity).
This low production makes the price of this olive oil higher than more productive varieties, which is natural.
However, we consider this to be our olive oil of choice due to its very special properties and distinctive taste, which we truly appreciate.
We do not intend to expand the range to other olive varieties.

GRAPHIC IMAGE
Our label is ribbon-style, featuring on each side the characters “Chico and Rosa” with their traditional and humorous dialogues, which are common across most products of our brand “O Melhor do Ribatejo.”
In this case, he asks Rosa:
“Are you in a bad mood?” — and on the other side, the English translation.
This traditional and emblematic Portuguese expression is very old and asks if someone is upset.
And she is indeed upset, as can be seen in the image :)

MARKETS
Due to its very special qualities, this is an olive oil perfectly suited to the most demanding markets, where 100% natural products are increasingly sought after.
We have made numerous exports, mainly throughout Europe (EU and non-EU), the United States, and Canada.
We also have some smaller orders for Bahrain, Australia, Havaí and other markets that we are still exploring.
We are very pleased with the results achieved so far!

CURIOSITY
Our producer prefers olives harvested from century-old trees, which produce the highest quality fruit.
After planting, each “Galega” olive tree may take more than ten years to produce its first harvest.
Other varieties take about 2 to 3 years to produce their first harvest.
It is a work that requires great patience but is very rewarding!

Best regards.
Ana Cascalheira