Liquid gold of Montenegro
Premium olive oil you cannot taste anywhere else!
What the Mediterranean would have been without the olive oil? Specialties and creations of the chefs from the restaurant Plantaže are well complemented with the premium olive oil from the oliveyards, located in Ćemovsko polje. Gold, greenish olive oil of Plantaže ,alluring with its piquancy, mild note of bitterness, scent of the cut grass and fruity tones knock off the gourmets and cooks off their feet. In Plantaže, the olive growers tend carefully their oliveyards and the harvest of the varieties : Leccino, Bjelica, Maurino and Barska žutica last even one month, because the olives of each variety have been picked at the time of their optimum ripeness. The state-of-the art technology of cold pressing and careful blending results in a noble, elegant and piquant oil which may be measured with the best oils from the world.
Regarding the fact that Montenegro has been the cradle of olive oil making in this part of the world, in which there is the oldest olive tree in the world, a famous olive tree from Bar, the staff in Plantaže made a decision to complete their story about the premium products from this area with the premium extra virgin olive oil.
Two olive growing areas in Bar and Bay of Kotor had been existing for centuries on the territory of Montenegro today.There was an idea about forty years ago to grow the olives more massively in the surroundings of Podgorica, as well and promote the third olive growing area.
Today, that idea has been realised and we can talk about the third olive growing area with all of its specificities, making it distinct from the other two areas.According to the Statistics from 1981, there were 37 fruitful olive trees and in 2000, there were 900 fruitful trees. Today, there are about 13.000 trees in Plantaže. The climatic changes have only accelerated and helped the realisation of this idea.
Nineteen years ago, the company Plantaže, by the recommendation of the colleagues from Italy, began the organised production of olives and olive oil. The first plantation of the olives was established on the territory of the Municipality of Podgorica in 2003 on the locality of Pavlovine, close to Stari podrum. The plantation covered the surface of about 2 ha. At that time, the locality of Pavlovine was ideal for the olive planting, so there were total 2.000 plants per ha on this plantation of the Spanish variety Arbequina.At that time, it was one of larger plantations in the region. Upon 2-3 years from the plantation of the first oliveyard, it was shown that Plantaže has been able to produce the olive oil of a very good quality which was, at the beginning, characterised as the extra virgin olive oil. That olive oil was used exclusively for the needs of the catering facilities of Plantaže, ie of the restaurants Mareza and Jezero.
After the first reactions of the consumers, it turned out that this idea was justified, having grounds for further expanding of the production. Bearing in mind that the area on the locality of Pavlovine was limited, ie there was not any space for the expansion of the olives in that part, the olive plantation expanded to the area of Ćemovsko polje.The olive plantations were planted within 3 years and located on 10 different locations on Ćemovsko polje.
At selecting very varieties, there were a few crucial factors. Firstly, it was taken care to select the varieties, resistant to low temperatures. The plantations on Ćemovsko polje are situated on the bordering Mediterranean part, a strong, northern wind and low temperatures are frequent during winter months.The second condition was the resistance, plant tolerance on the diseases and pests (first of all,olive tree necrosis). Certainly, the crucial prerequisite was the furture quality of the olive oil. At selecting the olive varieties, the experts from Italy,Spain and Greece helped us.
After the comprehensive analyses , the Italian olive variety Lecino was selected, because it is resistant to all mentioned conditions and Maurino (as a pollinator), typical olive oil variety , resistant to low temperatures. Besides the Italian varieties, a famous regional variety Istarska bjelica was planted on Plantaže oliveyards as well as the autochthonous Montenegrin variety Žutica. It turned out that the selection of the varieties was justified because the winter last year with strong winds and very low temperatures in a certain period of time (surface temperatures were even up to -10 C) were the test for the olives on Ćemovsko polje. Thanks to the good selection of the olive varieties,the olives stood the test of time and agro-ecological conditions of Ćemovsko polje turned out to be very adequate for planting of olives.
After the first reactions of the consumers, it turned out that this idea was justified, having grounds for further expanding of the production. Bearing in mind that the area on the locality of Pavlovine was limited, ie there was not any space for the expansion of the olives in that part, the olive plantation expanded to the area of Ćemovsko polje.The olive plantations were planted within 3 years and located on 10 different locations on Ćemovsko polje.
At selecting very varieties, there were a few crucial factors. Firstly, it was taken care to select the varieties, resistant to low temperatures. The plantations on Ćemovsko polje are situated on the bordering Mediterranean part, a strong, northern wind and low temperatures are frequent during winter months.The second condition was the resistance, plant tolerance on the diseases and pests (first of all,olive tree necrosis). Certainly, the crucial prerequisite was the furture quality of the olive oil. At selecting the olive varieties, the experts from Italy,Spain and Greece helped us.
After the comprehensive analyses , the Italian olive variety Lecino was selected, because it is resistant to all mentioned conditions and Maurino (as a pollinator), typical olive oil variety , resistant to low temperatures. Besides the Italian varieties, a famous regional variety Istarska bjelica was planted on Plantaže oliveyards as well as the autochthonous Montenegrin variety Žutica. It turned out that the selection of the varieties was justified because the winter last year with strong winds and very low temperatures in a certain period of time (surface temperatures were even up to -10 C) were the test for the olives on Ćemovsko polje. Thanks to the good selection of the olive varieties,the olives stood the test of time and agro-ecological conditions of Ćemovsko polje turned out to be very adequate for planting of olives.
The olives are picked by hand, namely each olive has been picked by hand from the tree which is one of the prerequisites for the production of the best quality oils. The picking time was chosen in the period when there were about 60% green fruits , when there were 30% fruits with the colour modification and when there were considerably less completely ripe olives. The fruits were immediately transported to the oil factory in Bar where there have been processed. In the harvest 2019, over 50.000 kg of olives were produced, out of which over 7.000 lit of extra virgin oil were made. In the following years when the olives will be at full bearing potential, giving up to 20 kgs of fruit, the volume of the olive oil will be considerably bigger . Considering that Plantaže has always aimed to be the nbest at all it works, the purchase of the oil factory, ie the processing and bottling line of the olive oil has been planned for the next period in order to complete fully the product.
THE QUALITY OF OIL
Olive oil, made in Plantaže is the finest olive oil, declared as the extra virgin oil. The mark ’extra virgin olive oil’ means that it originates from the ’virgin production’, ie that the olives have been drained exclusively by physical pressure, without heating and use of the chemical processes and such an oil may not contain over 0,8% acidity. The olive oil, made by Plantaže, contains 0,26% acidity only.
The reward for the quality olive oil 13 Jul-Plantaže
At processing, the temperature of the olive paste is not over 27° C which is the guarantee of preserving the polyphenols and other useful compounds, making the oil beneficial for health. It is one of the most beneficial plant products for human health, so this oil has often been considered as the ’elixir of human health’.
According to the valid Law on Olive growing and olive oil making as well as the Rules on properties, quality, manner of sampling and methods of the analysis of the olive oil, we produced the olive oil with 0,2% free fatty acids (0.2 gr on 100 gr oil) which is classified as the extra virgin oil. It was necessary to make the additional analyses, implying the test of the peroxide value, extraction ratio, ethyl ester content and make a sensory evaluation of the olive oil by the panel testing in order to make the classification of the oil, based on the content of free, fatty acids, attested and official. All analyses showed that Plantaže produced extra virgin olive oil.
Blending the oils, made of the varieties :Leccino, Istarska bjelica and Maurino, Plantaže produced extra virgin olive oil which has been awarded with gold medals for the quality at the prestigious, regional contests.
Olive oil – the source of health
The olive oil is the base of the Mediterranean nutrition which has been considered as one of the best nutritions regarding the prevention against the diseases of the modern age (high blood pressure, high triglycerides, cholesterol, obesity, diabetes).
Regarding the diversity of the beneficial substances for human helath, nutritional value, pleasantness on flavour and chemical composition, the olive oil is the supreme gift of Nature and a precious product of the synergistic action of: soil, sun, water, human knowledge, know-how and hard-working.
Plantaže olive oil was made of the olives from Ćemovsko polje, of carefully selected varieties, manually picked and immediately processed fruits without heating and chemicals. It has officially been evaluated as premium extra virgin oil that allures with its piquancy and mild note of bitterness and fruity taste. The olive trees outside the Coast can give premium quality olive oil which has been confirmed by an old olive grower’s saying :’Where the winter may take the olive away, it can make the best oil’’.
The olive oil has the highest content, of all oils, of the monounsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols- antioxidants that show anti-inflammatory action and reduce the risks for occurrence of a thrombus. This finding should not be taken as a surprise, because the Mediterranean people live longer than other Europeans thanks to the consumption of the olive oil, wine and fish which are the integral parts of this nutrition every day. The extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest of all types of the olive oil, because it has been minimally processed and is made by the first, cold pressing of the high quality , undamaged olives and it has a specific smell.It is abundant with vitamins and natural antioxidants.
