La Masrojana
Specialists in olives, La Masrojana also offers an innovative Arbequina Olive Oil with Spicy Red Chili Pepper. This product combines the nutritional properties of the Arbequina olive with a touch of chili pepper, ideal for meats, pasta, pizza, and any dish that seeks a distinctive spicy flavor. Discover its quality in the selection of olives for your table.
La Masrojana – A Family Business Exports Worldwide
From a small family business founded by Julian Folch in 1977, La Masrojana has grown into a family enterprise that is well-known and popular not only within Spain. While Julian Folch initially didn't specialize, bottling both wine and olive oil for other companies, the third generation of the family has mainly focused on the marketing and production of olives and olive oil.
With their mission to combine quality, tradition, and ecology with locally grown products, siblings Juliá Folch and Mireia have hit the mark. Whether for classic olive oil or flavored olive oil, La Masrojana always processes fruits from the region (Priorat, Ribera d’Ebre, and Terra Alta). Traditional knowledge combined with modern technology in harmony with nature guarantees first-class quality products.
The Tradition/History of La Masrojana
After the family project evolved into the La Masrojana brand, local olives could already be found in stores in the province of Tarragona under this name by 1985. Just seven years later, the business was so well established that machines for hygienically packaging olives in glass containers could be acquired. And after another 25 successful years, a new, larger site had to be purchased to meet the volume of orders.
Naturally, the Folch siblings of La Masrojana never lost sight of the traditional production of olive oil during all the modernizations. The family's experience, diligently passed down from generation to generation, is also incorporated into the modern bottling and production methods.
La Masrojana and the Advantages of Using Regional Olives
La Masrojana, based in Móra d’Ebre, the capital of the Ribera d’Ebre region, focuses on the use of regional olives, which offers several advantages:
- The transport distances are short, allowing the fruits to be quickly packaged or processed after harvesting. This results in excellent quality for both table olives and olive oil.
- La Masrojana knows its suppliers personally, as they are consistently neighboring olive farmers. A visit to the olive grove is possible at any time, which further builds trust and security.
- By exclusively processing regional olives, La Masrojana makes a valuable contribution to climate protection. Shorter transport routes mean lower CO2 emissions.
- By supporting the local economy, the family business can positively influence fair wages for the workers and helpers necessary for cultivating and harvesting the olives.
Which Olive Varieties Does La Masrojana Use?
La Masrojana also adheres to tradition when it comes to olive varieties. Exclusively Spanish olives such as Arbequina, Negra de Aragón, Manzanilla, Gazpacha, and Gordal Picante are processed.
- While also popular as a table olive in Catalonia, Arbequina is primarily used for olive oil production. Although not as productive as other olive varieties, it impresses with a wonderfully fruity aroma.
- Negra de Aragón is a distinct table olive. It fascinates with a beautifully shiny, black color and scores with its intense, sweet taste. Slightly bitter on the finish, it is perfect as an accompaniment to fresh sheep's or goat's cheese.
- Manzanilla is characterized by its firm flesh. With its intense fruity taste, the crunchy olive is an optimal Mediterranean snack.
- The Gazpacha Olive can boast both spicy and slightly acidic notes. It tastes particularly good as an aperitif with a cool glass of beer.
- As the name suggests, Gordal Picante belongs to the large olive varieties. It has a lot of flesh, making it a coveted table olive. "Picante" indicates that it has a slight spiciness.
The Very Special Olive Oils from La Masrojana
While all of La Masrojana's olive oils are top-tier oils that are unparalleled in quality, the producers have come up with an extra treat in their flavored olive oils. These are not finished olive oils that get their special aroma from fruit essences or fruit/spice extracts. Instead, fresh olives are pressed together with the respective aromatic substance (fruit or herb) at low temperatures.
Thus, from La Masrojana, you can acquire a wonderfully fresh olive oil with a hint of lemon. There is an extravagant olive oil with the sweet-peppery aroma of basil. And a spicy-aromatic olive oil with an unusual garlic note is also in the assortment, as is a piquant olive oil with a touch of red chili. The flavored oils are not only a wonderful, unique gift. They also offer the opportunity to enhance a homemade dish in a very special way.
La Masrojana's Olive Cream, a Paste for Gourmets
With their savory cream made from green Arbequina olives or black Empeltre olives, La Masrojana offers you another way to enjoy the diverse flavors of olive fruits. As pure natural products consisting only of the respective olive variety, a high-quality, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil of the highest class, and a pinch of salt, they impress with their unadulterated taste.
When consumed plain, the olive pastes are delicious as an aperitif, a savory snack between meals, or a dip for small evening nibbles. But to perfect your dishes with the wonderfully fresh aromas of green or black olives, La Masrojana's natural olive creams can also be used. Although the vegan and gluten-free olive pastes cannot compete with olive oil consumption in Spain itself, they enjoy great popularity in northern countries.
La Masrojana Popular in East and West, North and South
As already mentioned, La Masrojana has grown significantly since its founding. This is partly due to the excellent quality of its products. But the continuous expansion into new markets and product diversity also make the family business so successful – not to mention the constant endeavor to delight the culinarily spoiled gourmet palate with something new and completely different. Thus, in addition to the unusual, flavored olive oils, the olive pastes have also proven to be small highlights.
However, La Masrojana is far from satisfied with this. New markets are constantly being explored, new products are being developed, and existing creations are being improved. In addition to Germany, which was among the first export countries, La Masrojana's olives and olive oil products are available throughout Europe in Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal.
And outside the borders of Europe, you can also find products from the popular brand. The United States has been supplied since 1996. Later, customers in Canada, Dubai, Japan, Australia, and Chile were added. And today, Vietnam, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia are also on the export list of the small family business from Tarragona, as is Russia.