Our PHENOLIO is an extra virgin olive oil in organic quality that also impressed Stiftung Warentest: PHENOLIO was the test winner out of 27 olive oils. But what path does the oil take, what makes it so special and how do we achieve this quality? The answers to these questions take us through half of Europe all the way to the kitchen.
Where does the journey start?
Recently, our Chief Supply Chain & Quality Officer Christian (his job is as important as the title sounds) went to see for himself the quality of the olives for our organic olive oil PHENOLIO. To do so, he traveled to the vast olive fields of late-summer Spanish Andalusia.
The testers from Stiftung Warentest didn't have to go quite that far for the November issue to put our oil through its paces: a pair of clicks in our store was enough.
What is the verdict?
The result: PHENOLIO is the test winner with a score of 1.8 (good)! 27 olives of the quality class „extra virgin“ were tested. Stiftung Warentest says about our PHENOLIO: „Top taste“ and „very well balanced, intensely fruity, distinctly bitter and spicy“.
©B. Jurgo, C. Hoffmann ©B. Jurgo, C. Hoffmann ©B. Jurgo, C. Hoffmann
What is the „secret“?
The prerequisite for this judgment is our consistent naturalness. PHENOLIO is an organic quality olive oil. We preserve the nutritional profile of the olive by means of light-protected centrifugation – and through a violet glass even from the warehouse üover the store counter to the küchen.
This preserves the secondary plant substances, in this case the polyphenols in particular. These help to protect the cells from oxidized cholesterol and free radicals. This effect is guaranteed from a daily amount of 20 g of olives per day - in other words, two tablespoons.
Is this the exception?
We consistently pay attention to the origin of our raw materials and value organic cultivation, fair extraction and gentle processing. Not only for PHENOLIO, but also for many of our products.
Uncompromising naturalness and, wherever possible, traceable sustainability throughout the entire supply chain are the be-all and end-all for us. We are always guided by the species-appropriate way of life of humans, adapting this to modern lifestyles and taking into account the latest scientific findings.
What are the criteria?
&By the way: Olive oil is one of the few foods for which the European Union requires a sensory test and sets very strict criteria in the top quality class „extra virgin“, which must be met. In typical EU fashion, the Olive Oil Regulation regulates how olive oils are to be assessed.
It describes three positive characteristics for the Mediterranean food: fruity, bitter and pungent. In addition, there are a whole 15 criteria such as edibility, mustiness and rancidity, which are uncompromisingly penalized.
What is olive oil suitable for?
Finally, we would like to clear up a common misconception: olive oil is less suitable for frying. In our PHENOLIO, the high heat destroys the valuable polyphenols. Good olive oil enriches the taste of cold salads or already prepared vegetables, fish and meat.
Lab-tested
Non-GMO
No artificial additives
UV-protected glass
Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Vegan
Product listed on the Cologne List®
100% vegetarian fermentation