Cobrançosa Olives
The sturdy olive of northern Portugal (Trás-os-Montes): an aromatic, bolder oil that gives blends their character.
The Cobrançosa is the sturdy, characterful olive of northern Portugal, especially Trás-os-Montes. Compared with the gentle Galega, it gives a bolder, more aromatic oil with a fresh, green, slightly bitter and peppery profile and a higher polyphenol content — so it keeps better. It is hardy and disease-resistant, which has made it the modern partner that props up many Portuguese blends.
- Origin
- Trás-os-Montes · Portugal
- Type
- Oil & table
- Colour
- Purple-black
- Flavour (oil)
- Green, aromatic, peppery
- Polyphenols
- Higher — good keeping
- Traits
- Hardy, disease-resistant
- Best for
- Backbone of Portuguese blends
The backbone olive
If Galega gives a Portuguese oil its sweetness, the Cobrançosa gives it structure: a green, herbaceous aroma, a clean bitterness, a peppery finish and the polyphenols that keep the oil fresh on the shelf. It is also tougher in the grove, resisting pests and disease better than the traditional Galega — which is exactly why it has spread.
Many of the best modern Portuguese oils are Galega-Cobrançosa blends — the Galega for sweetness and fruit, the Cobrançosa for backbone and stability. On its own, a Cobrançosa oil is fresh, green and lively, a good demonstration that Portugal makes serious extra virgin worth seeking out.