🫒 Olive oil

Olive oil is the oil extracted from the flesh of olives. It is the flesh, not the stone, that holds almost all the fat: it makes up 70–90 % of the fruit's weight, and every 100 grams of it contain 15 to 30 grams of fat. Getting one kilogram of oil takes five to six kilograms of olives.

Not all olive oil is the same. The European Union recognises eight categories, and only four of them may be sold to shoppers: extra virgin, virgin, a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, and olive-pomace oil. Each carries its own compulsory explanatory phrase on the label, so a careful buyer can see at once what is in the bottle. Lampante oil, with high acidity and obvious taste defects, is not allowed onto the table without refining.

The most valued oils, virgin and extra virgin, are made by mechanical means only: the olives are washed, crushed together with their stones, the paste is slowly stirred, and the oil is separated with a press or a centrifuge.

Olive oil or sunflower oil? Olive oil is extracted from the flesh of the fruit, and one kilogram takes five to six kilograms of olives, while sunflower and canola oils are pressed from seeds. Only olive oil has the EU's category system: extra virgin and virgin are made by mechanical means only, the blend contains refined oil, and olive-pomace oil is a separate category. So the words "olive oil" alone tell you little; read the category name on the label.

On the shelf, look for the full category name: "extra virgin olive oil" or "virgin olive oil". The blend is labelled "olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils", and pomace oil as "olive-pomace oil". If an oil has a protected designation of origin, the EU PDO symbol appears on the bottle. It is sold in supermarkets and in delicatessens.

How much is made depends on the weather. In the 2024/25 season the world produced about 3.57 million tonnes of oil, 38 % more than a year earlier. Spain supplied more than a third (1.42 million t), followed by Türkiye, Tunisia, Greece, Italy and Portugal. For 2025/26 the International Olive Council expects a slightly smaller harvest of about 3.44 million t, with consumption above 3.2 million t.