{"id":1014,"date":"2023-08-03T20:50:15","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T20:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage1.critida.com\/why-greece-is-the-word-when-it-comes-to-olive-oil\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T06:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T06:32:39","slug":"why-greece-is-the-word-when-it-comes-to-olive-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/why-greece-is-the-word-when-it-comes-to-olive-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Greece is the word when it comes to olive oil – Greek is the world’s best EVOO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting to the Greek: Why Greece is the word when it comes to olive oil<\/h2>\n\n

(\u0414\u0415\u0420\u0415\u041a \u041a\u04e8\u0417\u0406: The Independent UK – www.independent.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n

If you say olives to people, they say Greece. If you say olive oil, they say Italy,\u201d declares author, journalist and all round expert Judy Ridgway. \u201cThe reason for that is two words: good marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

From the moment us Brits started developing a taste for this green gold of the Mediterranean \u2013 as early as the 19th century \u2013 the Italians were paving the way for their country in general (and Tuscany in particular) to be considered the place for good olive oil.<\/p>\n\n

The olive oil bottles looked expensive; the labels boasted family crests.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt sounds superficial \u2013 and it was superficial, but the Greeks hadn\u2019t really got it together on the packaging front,\u201d says Charles Carey. \u201cOur British connection with Italy and our historic fondness for it as a country meant we have always assumed Italian olive oil was the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The founder and owner of the Oil Merchant in west London, Carey speaks from personal experience. Though today he sources olive oils from across the Mediterranean, when he first embarked upon his quest to bring fine olive oil to London it was to Tuscany he initially headed.<\/p>\n\n

In Greece, everyone uses extra virgin olive oil, even for cooking and baking cakes and biscuits<\/strong>
<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
Judy Ridgway<\/p>\n\n
Think Italy has the best virgin olive oil? Think again \u2013 it actually imports a lot of olive oil from Greece, finds Clare Finney. But with better marketing and word spreading, Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil is finally being recognised for its superior quality<\/h2>\n\n
A few years later, with Spanish and French oils in his stock now as well as Italian, he turned to Greece and tried importing to here \u2013 \u201cbut there just wasn\u2019t the market for it\u201d he recalls. The perception \u2013 if there was one at all \u2013 was that Greek oil was for cooking with. \u201cOnly in the past year or so have people started looking at Greek olive oil with the respect that it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Of course, Carey is talking pretty mainstream here: his customers include Waitrose and Harvey Nichols. South of the Thames, Marianna Kolokotroni has been selling organic, single estate Greek olive oil at Borough Market from her shop Oliveology since 2009. Many of her customers have been with her for years.<\/p>\n\n
The main reason the oil of her homeland isn\u2019t known more widely, she says, is because it hasn\u2019t had much going spare until recently. \u201cWe were exporting our olive oil to Italy in bulk, where it was mixed with other European oils, bottled and sold as Italian oil. It was the easiest way for our farmers to sell it, so that\u2019s what most people were doing.\u201d With neither the resources nor business acumen of their Italian counterparts, only a handful of Greek olive oil producers (Kolokotroni\u2019s among them) could afford to bottle and sell their own.<\/p>\n\n
Which is a shame, Ridgway explains \u2013 because when it comes to quality, Greek olive oil has always been very consistent. \u201cI am right behind the idea of going for Greek olive oil. It doesn\u2019t have the reputation or cache of Italian \u2013 but that can mean it offers better value for money,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n\n
You don\u2019t really find the lower grade industrially produced olive oils \u2013 because the landscape of Greece is so mountainous, you can\u2019t get big machines around the olive groves<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
Judy Ridgway<\/p>\n\n
It is also versatile, being \u201cgenerally speaking milder and more delicate in taste\u201d. Kolkotroni agrees: \u201cI am biased of course, because I\u2019m Greek and used to what I grew up with \u2013 but I\u2019ve been to many trade fairs, and I do find the Greek olive oils a bit smoother, a bit more easy-going. I love the pepperiness of Italian, but I\u2019d probably use it more for salad \u2013 whereas the Greek olive oil you can drizzle over everything.\u201d You can \u2013 and they do.<\/p>\n\n
With more than 24 litres of olive oil per capita, per year, the Greeks are by far the biggest consumers of olive oil in the world. They are also the biggest producers of extra virgin olive oil: the highest grade of olive oil classification, which must be extracted entirely by mechanical means \u2013 that is, without the use of any solvents \u2013 and under temperatures that will not degrade its quality.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIn Greece, everyone uses extra virgin, even for cooking and baking cakes and biscuits,\u201d Kolokotroni continues. \u201cYou don\u2019t really find the lower grade industrially produced oils \u2013 because the landscape of Greece is so mountainous, you can\u2019t get big machines around the olive groves. The producers still have to pick and process by hand: there\u2019s no large-scale, commercial production, and that makes for better quality\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0413\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0438\u044f \u04d9\u043b\u0435\u043c\u0434\u0435\u0433\u0456 \u0436\u0435\u0440 \u043a\u04e9\u043b\u0435\u043c\u0456 \u0431\u043e\u0439\u044b\u043d\u0448\u0430 \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u0430\u0493\u0430\u0448\u0442\u0430\u0440\u044b\u043d\u044b\u04a3 \u0435\u04a3 \u043a\u04e9\u043f \u04af\u043b\u0435\u0441\u0456\u043c\u0435\u043d \u043c\u0430\u049b\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0430 \u0430\u043b\u0430\u0434\u044b<\/a><\/strong><\/code><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\"Production<\/figure>\n\n
The sadness is that for decades so much of this hand-harvested olive oil was ending up in pan-European blends of varying standards, bottled and sold as Italian olive oil. Labelling laws today are stricter than they were, but that doesn\u2019t stop big Italian brands passing off oil they have sourced from a variety of countries off as entirely their own. Carey describes one he found the other day: \u201cFarchioni. Italy\u2019s favourite olive oil, it says on the front. Nice Italian name, Farchioni. On the back it says \u2018cold extraction, produce of Farchioni\u2019. Only below that does it say \u2018produce of the European Union\u2019. It\u2019s probably mostly Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Selling to huge brands like these, Greek producers were never going to make much of a profit \u2013 either to invest in marketing advice or in better equipment. Then the Greek financial crisis hit and, while big business floundered, Greek\u2019s food and drink offering began to gradually improve.<\/p>\n\n
Kolokotroni recalls how young people who had been working the white-collar jobs born of Greece\u2019s joining the EU (and the subsequent cash-injection it brought) came back to the land, as the opportunities dried up in the city: \u201cThey took over the vineyards and olive groves of their parents and grandparents, and started to put their ideas and their energy into packaging the product properly and promoting and exporting it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThey brought their banking skills, their marketing skills,\u201d says Ridgway \u2013 and the thing that had previously impeded their profits, their having to harvest olives by hand, began to work in their favour, as a rich and varied offering of single estate olive oils emerged from the ruins of their economy.<\/p>\n\n
Growing up in Greece, olive oil was just olive oil, says Jenny Pagoni, a Greek-born photographer and restaurateur. \u201cIt was everywhere, and it was good quality, and we sort of overlooked it.\u201d Today, a beautiful, single estate Cretan olive oil is front and centre of the menu of Amp\u00e9li, the Greek restaurant she has just opened on London\u2019s Charlotte Street. In fact Carey believes Greece is now one of the biggest producers of single varietal and single estate olive oils \u2013 that is olive oil produced by one estate, or from one variety of olive from a single estate.<\/p>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
\u201cOther countries tend to blend varietals. The one we\u2019re importing and selling now, Lia, won 2019 Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil Monovarietal Award at the Flos Olei.\u201d You\u2019ll find it in Waitrose \u2013 and if you\u2019re looking for proof that Greece has upped its design and marketing game, this is it. A tall, shapely bottle in Grecian statue white with fine gold lettering carries a price tag of \u00a318.50 \u2013 the most expensive extra virgin olive oil on the shelf, and yet given its quality (it is the only single estate, monovarietal there) great value for money.<\/p>\n\n
After years of being in thrall to Italian and then Spanish olive oils, even non-Greek chefs are starting to clock onto the affordability, quality and versatility of Greek\u2019s liquid gold. \u201cRecently we were sent a free sample of Greek olive oil, and we loved it so much I\u2019ve started buying it and using it on some of our pasta dishes \u2013 don\u2019t tell the Italians!\u201d laughs Ben Cooke of Little Gloster on the Isle of Wight.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cheaper, and the one we have is beautifully smooth and balanced with a delicious buttery acidity.\u201d Tom Kemble, of his eponymous at Tom Kemble at The Pass, in Sussex, is another convert: \u201cIt was only a few years ago that I started to work with Greek olive oils, and my favourite is a new season Koroneiki olive oil. I use this over everything; dressing bread, salads, fish and meat. In the restaurant we actually pair this kind of olive oil in a dessert, seasoning a lemon and basil curd accompanied with blood oranges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Discerning customers looking for an easy and affordable way to bring an extra dimension of flavour \u2013 and indeed beauty, olive oil bottles being one of the more \u201con show\u201d ingredients there are \u2013 to their homes could do worse than follow their lead.<\/p>\n\n
(\u0414\u0415\u0420\u0415\u041a \u041a\u04e8\u0417\u0406: https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/food-and-drink\/features\/getting-to-the-greek-why-greece-is-the-word-when-it-comes-to-olive-oil-a9370746.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n
\u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n\n
The Art of Making Greek Olive Oil<\/strong> – short documentary on Greek Olive Oil<\/p>\n\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/FZDr9WKIBOo<\/figure>\n\n
Articles related to the best, top quality of Olive Oil of Greece<\/h3>\n\n
Did You Know a Lot of Italian Olive Oil Isn\u2019t Actually From Italy?<\/a><\/p>\n\n
How Greek Olive Oil Becomes \u2018Italian\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Greek PDO and PGI Olive Oil products<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Production & consumption of Olive Oil in Greece<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Greek Olive Tree Varieties \u2013 Olive Tree species and varieties in Greece<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Big production increase of olive oil in Greece<\/a><\/p>\n\n
The Cretan Diet<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\u0413\u0440\u0435\u0446\u0438\u044f\u043d\u044b\u04a3 \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0442 \u0430\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044b\u043d\u0434\u0430\u0493\u044b \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b<\/a><\/p>\n\n
History of the Olive Tree and Olive Oil in Greece<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Why Greek Olive Oil is the Best in the World – Olive Oil is the top quality natural product of Greece since antiquity<\/a><\/p>\n\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/vXW6_ny4fz8<\/figure>\n\n
Why Greek Olive Oil is a Food and Medicine in One<\/a><\/p>\n\n
5 + 3 reasons why Greek olive oil is so precious<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\"\u0413\u0440\u0435\u043a \u0417\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b\u043d \u043a\u04e9\u0442\u0435\u0440\u043c\u0435 \u0441\u0430\u0442\u0443 \u2013 \u0417\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b\u043d \u043a\u04e9\u0442\u0435\u0440\u043c\u0435 \u0436\u0435\u0442\u043a\u0456\u0437\u0443\u0448\u0456\u043b\u0435\u0440 \u043c\u0435\u043d \u0434\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0431\u044c\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043b\u0430\u0440<\/p>\n
 CRITIDA BIO CRETAN \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b \u2013 \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0442 \u0430\u0441\u043f\u0430\u0437\u0434\u044b\u049b \u04e9\u043d\u0456\u043c\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0456\u043d\u0456\u04a3 \u0436\u043e\u0493\u0430\u0440\u044b \u0441\u0430\u043f\u0430\u043b\u044b \u04e9\u043d\u0434\u0456\u0440\u0443\u0448\u0456\u043b\u0435\u0440\u0456: \u0411\u0456\u0437\u0434\u0456\u04a3 \u0430\u0437\u044b\u049b-\u0442\u04af\u043b\u0456\u043a \u04e9\u043d\u0456\u043c\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0456\u043c\u0456\u0437 1998 \u0436\u044b\u043b\u0434\u0430\u043d \u0431\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043f \u04d9\u043b\u0435\u043c\u043d\u0456\u04a3 40-\u0442\u0430\u043d \u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043c \u0435\u043b\u0456\u043d\u0435 \u044d\u043a\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0440\u0442\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0430\u0434\u044b \u2013 \u0411\u0456\u0437\u0433\u0435 \u049b\u043e\u0441\u044b\u043b\u044b\u04a3\u044b\u0437! <\/a><\/h2>\n
\u0411\u0456\u0437 \u0413\u0440\u0435\u0446\u0438\u044f\u043d\u044b\u04a3 \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0442 \u0430\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044b\u043d\u0434\u0430 EVOO \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b\u043d \u04e9\u043d\u0434\u0456\u0440\u0443\u043c\u0435\u043d \u0430\u0439\u043d\u0430\u043b\u044b\u0441\u0430\u0442\u044b\u043d \u0493\u0430\u0441\u044b\u0440\u043b\u0430\u0440 \u0431\u043e\u0439\u044b \u0436\u04b1\u043c\u044b\u0441 \u0456\u0441\u0442\u0435\u043f \u043a\u0435\u043b\u0435 \u0436\u0430\u0442\u049b\u0430\u043d \u043e\u0442\u0431\u0430\u0441\u044b\u043b\u044b\u049b \u043a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f\u043c\u044b\u0437 (1912 \u0436\u044b\u043b\u044b \u049b\u04b1\u0440\u044b\u043b\u0493\u0430\u043d). \u0411\u0456\u0437\u0434\u0456\u04a3 \u043f\u0440\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0443\u043c \u043a\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0442\u0456\u043a \u0442\u044b\u04a3 \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b \u043c\u0435\u043d \u0430\u0441\u043f\u0430\u0437\u0434\u044b\u049b \u0442\u0430\u0493\u0430\u043c\u0434\u0430\u0440\u044b\u043c\u044b\u0437 \u04d9\u043b\u0435\u043c\u043d\u0456\u04a3 40-\u0442\u0430\u043d \u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043c \u0435\u043b\u0456\u043d\u0435 \u043c\u04b1\u049b\u0438\u044f\u0442 \u0442\u0430\u04a3\u0434\u0430\u043b\u0493\u0430\u043d \u0441\u0435\u0440\u0456\u043a\u0442\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440 \u0436\u0435\u043b\u0456\u0441\u0456\u043d\u0435 \u044d\u043a\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0440\u0442\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0430\u0434\u044b. \u0411\u0406\u0417\u0411\u0415\u041d \u0425\u0410\u0411\u0410\u0420\u041b\u0410\u0421\u042b\u04a2\u042b\u0417, \u0411\u0406\u0417\u0414\u0406\u04a2 \u041a\u0415\u041b\u0415\u0421\u0406 \u0411\u0410\u0492\u0410\u041b\u042b \u0406\u0421\u041a\u0415\u0420\u0421\u0415\u0420\u0406\u041a \u0421\u0415\u0420\u0406\u041a\u0422\u0415\u0421\u0406\u041c\u0406\u0417 \u0411\u041e\u041b\u042b\u04a2\u042b\u0417! \u049a\u043e\u0441\u044b\u043c\u0448\u0430 \u0442\u044b\u04a3 \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b (EVOO) \u2013 \u041e\u0440\u0433\u0430\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430\u043b\u044b\u049b (\u0411\u0438\u043e) \u049a\u043e\u0441\u044b\u043c\u0448\u0430 \u0442\u044b\u04a3 \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b (\u041e\u0440\u0433\u0430\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430\u043b\u044b\u049b EVOO) \u2013 \u0413\u0440\u0435\u043a \u0430\u0441\u0445\u0430\u043d\u0430\u043b\u044b\u049b \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0456 \u2013 \u0411\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0437\u0430\u043c \u0441\u0456\u0440\u043a\u0435 \u0441\u0443\u044b \u2013 \u0414\u0435\u043b\u0438\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0435\u0441 \u04e9\u043d\u0456\u043c\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0456, \u0431\u0430\u0440\u043b\u044b\u0493\u044b \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0442\u0435\u043d \u0413\u0440\u0435\u0446\u0438\u044f\u0434\u0430\u043d.<\/p>\n
 \u0411\u0456\u0437\u0433\u0435 \u049b\u043e\u0441\u044b\u043b\u044b\u04a3\u044b\u0437, \u0437\u04d9\u0439\u0442\u04af\u043d \u043c\u0430\u0439\u044b\u043d \u0436\u0435\u0442\u043a\u0456\u0437\u0443\u0448\u0456\/\u043a\u04e9\u0442\u0435\u0440\u043c\u0435 \u0441\u0430\u0442\u0443\u0448\u044b \u0431\u043e\u043b\u044b\u04a3\u044b\u0437! <\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Getting to the Greek: Why Greece is the word when it comes to olive oil (SOURCE: The Independent UK –<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[216,217,218,120,180,182,103,219,165,167],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-best-evoo","tag-best-extra-virgin-olive-oil","tag-best-olive-oil","tag-extra-virgin-olive-oil","tag-greek-evoo","tag-greek-olive-oil","tag-olive-oil","tag-olive-oil-blog","tag-organic-extra-virgin-olive-oil","tag-organic-olive-oil"],"permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/critida.com\/kk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}