엑스트라 버진 Picholine · Aït Attab

Sources: OCL Journal 2024, PubMed PMC 7699463, World Olive Catalog IOC

Oleic acid is not a simple analytical indicator. This is the foundation of what makes up the nutritional and functional value of olive oil. A high oleic acid content means: superior oxidative stability (the oil resists oxidation longer without added antioxidants), a reinforced cardioprotective profile (Ω-9 monounsaturated fatty acids are associated with the reduction of LDL-cholesterol and cardiovascular health), and an optimal cosmetic formulation hold (oleic acid penetrates deep into the stratum corneum, without leaving a fatty film). This is the reason why demanding formulators, both food and cosmetic, turn to Moroccan Picholine when they want the best.

The Aït Attab region is nestled in the foothills of the High Atlas, in the province of Béni Mellal-Khénifra. It is a mountain and foothill territory, where olive trees grow at altitudes between 600 and 1,200 meters, in conditions which exceptionally favor the concentration of active ingredients in the fruit: cold winters which slow down maturity and concentrate polyphenols, hot and dry summers which stimulate the synthesis of oleic acid, and draining calcareous soils which force the roots to search deeply for water and minerals.

These natural conditions, altitude, thermal amplitude, nature of the soil, are precisely the factors that the scientific literature identifies as determining factors in the high concentration of oleic acid and polyphenols in Moroccan Picholine. It is no coincidence that the highest Ω-9 contents are systematically measured in the continental semi-arid climate regions of Morocco, of which Aït Attab is an elite representative.

Folk Oils contracts directly with the cooperatives and small farmers of Aït Attab, families of olive growers, some of whom have been cultivating the same orchards for several generations, with intimate knowledge of the optimal harvest time: this precise stage of maturity, between green and turning, where the concentration of polyphenols is maximum and free acidity at its lowest point.

Folk Oils works directly with olive cooperatives and small farmers in the region, without a commercial intermediary, to ensure that each batch of fruit meets our maturity, harvest and crushing requirements.

The bulk olive oil market is structurally opaque: large exporters mix origins, harvests, and sometimes varieties. An oil labeled “Morocco” can come from ten different regions, from producers that the trader has never met, crushed under uncontrolled conditions. Folk Oils operates in the opposite way: we know each cooperative, each harvest, each crushing date. This level of traceability is our commitment, and your analytical guarantee.

The olive growers of Aït Attab cultivate orchards, often centuries old, passed down from generation to generation, on mountain lands that large industrial farms have never colonized. This family and cooperative olive growing is the condition for the quality of the oil, but it is economically fragile. Folk Oils is committed to being a fair and stable business partner.

Direct contracts with cooperatives and small farmers, we contract directly with the producers of Aït Attab, without an intermediary trader. The entire purchase price goes to the olive growers and their cooperatives.

Guaranteed purchase price above the bulk market, stable price above the bulk oil price. Economic security to invest in agronomic quality: maintenance of orchards, control of harvest time, rapid crushing after picking (less than 24 hours).

Commitment to optimal maturity, co-definition of harvest criteria: ripe olive stage, maximum harvest-crushing time, respectful picking of the fruit. Analytical quality is the result of a relationship of trust, not of post-factum control.

Cooperative-to-cooperative traceability, each batch identified back to the original cooperative or producer, with harvest and crushing date. Supply chain due diligence covered on the plot.

Support for the transmission of olive knowledge, living mountain agricultural heritage. Reasoned traditional practices which have produced these exceptional oils for centuries, against the logic of yield which would destroy their quality.