In this post I am not going to talk about the benefits of olive oil as in most of the other posts so far and I am going to start instead a new chapter on this blog, that is, the review of various
Greeks harvesting olives
types of olive oils. My aim is to provide my numerous readers (thanks again for all the support emails!) verified information to be more informed on which olive oil they should buy to enjoy the best health benefits of olive oil.
I am going to start this chapter with Greek olive oil, and discuss some of the varieties of such a great producer. One question many of the readers have asked me is: can you get good Greek olive oil online? The answer is yes. One thing that I have pointed out in one of my previous posts on Italian vs. Spanish vs. Greek olive oil is that much of the Italian and other olive oil you consume is already partially or entirely from Greece – look for the telltale “GR” under “Country of Origin”. However, you know that not all the olive oils you buy at the supermarket would ever make my kitchen so keep reading for more details!
Tassos Greek Olive Oil
Tassos olive oil comes from Crete and is one of the best oils from outside of Greece. This is a greenish-tinged oil which is rich but has a smooth flavor. For a long time, it was only available on line in a massive three-liter container. It can be used for dipping, salads, cooking, and baking. More recently it is also available in smaller quantities -as well as olives, honeys, spreads and even as feta stuffed marinated red peppers – directly from the manufacturer’s website, Tassos.com.
Liohori Olive Oil
Another great Cretan olive oils. It is available at a good price in three-liter tin
Cretan olive oils
Taste of Crete Olive Oil
This extra-virgin olive oil comes from the area of Sitia in the northeastern part of Crete, rich in Minoan ruins and kept cool by breezes -and sometimes winds- blowing across the Aegean sea. Made from Koroneki olives, this is a milder, reasonably-priced oil.
Aegean Kalamata Olive Oil
Though Kalamata olives are known for their unique, strong flavor, the olive oils themselves are not as spicy. A large three-liter metal can supplies you with extra-virgin olive oil for a few meals at least.
Kalamata Olive Oils
If the average consumer knows one word of Greek in conjunction with olives, it is probably “Kalamata”, the term for the strong, pointy, purple-colored olives often served at Greek restaurants worldwide. However, Kalamata olive oil is not purple, as a bottle of any of these olive oils will prove.
With this traditional olive oil I conclude on my first post trying to explore the different types of olive oils available on the net. For each olive oil I am going to talk about, I will have talked with the producer and often tasted my self the oil to make sure that all the olive oil benefits I have talked about are embodied in the various oils. Every now and then, I will also talk about olives and other olive products to make sure you can have more olive benefits and taste in your kitchen and life in general!
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Vito,
Over the last 2 years I have started using olive oil having heard so much about its health benefits. I have bought Greek olive oil in the past and found its taste very similat to the Italian and french olive oil. Now I can see from your blog that there are various types of greek olive oil (how naive I was to talk just about Greek olive oil!!). I would like to try some olive oil that is more tasty than the one I currently buy from my Tesco supermarket in London. Can you please suggest what I should do?
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge!
Hi! Thanks for sharing the advices on the Greek olive oil, I looked on the internet for websites selling the olive oils you suggested but I could not find much! I am intrigued by the Taste of Crete olive oil…your description sounds amazing! Can you please suggest a good place where to buy this olive oil?
I have read youf blog posts about the olive oil benefits and I am so convinced that I need to move to good olive oil! The 7 reasons you are mentioning here http://www.all-about-olive-oil.com/benefits-of-olive-oil-7-reasons are something everybody should care about! Thanks and please let me know!
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My dear friend,
thank, you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! finally someone recognized that the Italians buy most of the Greek olive oil from the Messinia (Kalamata) region to enhance the quality of their own.
I was importing olive oil in Australia for many years from Kalamata and I worked my butt off to convince buyers that its the best in the world by far and that the Italians buy Kalamata olive oil to upgrade their own.
Pay the extra many that it costs its worth every cent of it.
The olive variety KORONEIKI is the best and tasty olive to produce olive oil.
Even the Cretans now acknowledge that since they imported the KORONEIKI variety their olive oil has improved 100% .
For your information not all olives produce good olive oil and some produce exceptional quality, ” KORONEIKI is one of them.
The name derives from a small town in the Messinia region that is called KORONI and KORONEIKI means that it is from KORONI.
This is totally different to the KALAMATA olive that we eat, it’s less than half its size but with many rich flavors and aromas.
Purr 10 grams of KALAMATA olive oil, sprinkle a little oregano on 1,5 cm thick slice of Greek feta cheese (not some white cheese that someone calls FETA to fool you) and KALI OREKSI (bon appétit). You can mash it up with a fork and use it as a sread on your toast or bread, you can even add a well ripe chopped up tomato on the top.
Hi Soulis,
thanks a lot for the useful information! I try to spread genuine knowledge about olive oil so even if I am Italian I had to say the true !
Please feel free to send me a guest post if you want to explain your point even further!
Our family now imports and sells our olive oil from the Pylias region of Messinia in Greece. We have just gotten back from the harvest and are offering our Freshly pressed oil with the date it was harvested and pressed (November 23rd 2010) along with its variety (Koroneicki) and we even have photos and a video of the harvest. This oil is completely pure, unfiltered and amazing. I would love for you to try some while it is still so young (although it is awesome year round).
My name is Paul Boundas and my Oil is http://www.pylianestates.com.
Best regards
Hi Paul,
thanks for offering to trial your oil!! I would be very happy to try it and write on this blog about your oil, its taste and properties!
However, in the meantime I am happy to invite you to write a self review and publish some photos and videos about the harvesting and brewing process. Let me know if you want to have a guest post on my blog by writing to allaboutoliveoil [the useual symbol] gmail.com
Thanks for the site I had post on my site.
Olive oil has been used in soap making for thousands of years
Our family use Greek Olive Oil on our soaps
http://naturalhandcraftedsoap.com
Really good to read about Greek Olive Oil.
My husband and I have just started exporting our amazing oil- but it is from the manaki olive- which noone has mentioned. It is absolutely delicious and I would be happy to send you a sample.
So far the best Greek EVOO I’ve ever tasted and the price is very reasonable…their website is http://www.santorinioils.com
I grew up eating food made with olive oil, and this brand is so flavorful that I have completely switched over to using it. And I love the fact that I can provide my family with all the health benefits that derive from olive oil — from a product that tastes great!
Very exciting to see Greek olive oil getting the recognition it deserves. Surely great olive oil is produced throughout the world and that includes the fine Greek producers, ultimately it is up to them to make their presence known, with their proffesionalism, love and respect for their cultivation. I really felt the need to write to comment on how you so eloquently responded to a post by simply stating, “I try to spread genuine knowledge about olive oil, so even if I am Italian I had to say the truth” it truly is commendable and shows your love of olive oil, this can only contribute to the betterment of the industry!
Hi Ria,
thanks for the nice words, as a olive oil lover I love to help people find the best info around. I have been busy lately so I did not write much on this blog but I can see how many people keep commenting!