Royal de Cazorla
also called Royal (do not confuse with Royal de Calatayud)A mountain variety that survives as a six per cent minority inside a Picual monoculture, kept alive by its aroma rather than its yield. Royal gives less oil than Picual and measures higher in volatile compounds than any of the major Spanish cultivars.
| Also called | Royal (do not confuse with Royal de Calatayud) |
|---|---|
| Main regions | Sierra de Cazorla, Jaén |
| Purpose | Oil |
| Oleic acid | ~74.9% (single published study) |
| Harvest | Flowers early, ripens late |
| Shelf stability | Not published |
| Watch out for | Brittle wood; lower extraction efficiency than Picual |
In the grove
Aroma and flavour descriptors
- 1Fresh green grass
- 2Apple
- 3Almond
- 4Fig
Descriptors from the Slow Food Ark of Taste entry and a peer-reviewed volatile study, which describes the oil as very fruity with very low bitterness. No panel medians published.
Ordered by how often each recurs in the published varietal literature, not by measured intensity. Our panel has not scored a monovarietal Royal de Cazorla oil, and no sensory panel data for it is published. 40 of the 40 varieties here read the same way.
This shelf fills when the panel scores an oil made from this variety. 19 of the 40 varieties here are in the same state today.
Royal de Cazorla against the other Spain varieties
| Variety | Origin region | Used for | Polyphenols | Shelf stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picual | Jaén, Andalusia | Oil | 300–700 mg/kg | Very high — over 55 h Rancimat |
| Arbequina | Les Garrigues, Lleida, Catalonia | Oil | 200–230 mg/kg | Low — 29.8 h Rancimat |
| Hojiblanca | Lucena, Córdoba, Andalusia | Dual-purpose | 280–820 mg/kg | High — Rancimat mean 73 h, falling with ripeness |
| Cornicabra | Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha | Oil | ~630 mg/kg | Very high — over 55 h Rancimat |
| Picudo | Córdoba, Andalusia | Dual-purpose | Not published | Low (nursery-level assessment; no Rancimat figure published) |
| Manzanilla de Sevilla | Guadalquivir valley, Seville | Table | Not published | Not published |
| Empeltre | Bajo Aragón, Ebro valley | Dual-purpose | Not published | Not published |
| Royal de Cazorla | Sierra de Cazorla, Jaén | Oil | ~156 mg/kg (single study) | Not published |
Sources
Every figure on this page carries a source. Where we could not find one we say so rather than estimating. Corrections are welcome and credited.