They are eaten at any time of day, from a quick snack to an appetizer, such as a pasta dish with olives, or a main course featuring fish and olives.

Every year, Italy consumes more than 120,000 metric tons of table olives, according to data from the International Olive Council (IOC). Only a few Mediterranean countries have higher consumption levels.

Taggiasca, Italy’s most prized table olive

In Liguria, in northwestern Italy, the term “Taggiasca” refers to the most popular local olive cultivar, whose trees dot the mountains and the coastlines of the region. It is also a symbol of pride and identity for the entire territory.

“Olives are the centerpiece of any aperitif or antipasto,” Fausto Scola, owner of Scola Restaurant in Savona, told Olive Oil Times. “That means Taggiasca olives, the only one that deserves to be consumed.”

While many Taggiasca olives are available on the market, ready to be taken from sealed jars, most restaurants prepare their own, using their own recipe.

For his olives, Scola uses a personal brine formula. “Our brine has ten percent salt and gets changed every two months to ensure that the olives maintain their profile and sapidity,” he explained.

The Ligurian salad known as condiglione becomes a celebration of the Taggiasca olive. Tomato, bell pepper, anchovy, hard-boiled egg, red onion, oregano and the brine all come together in this traditional dish.

“The brine is essential because it adds savoriness without compromising the flavor of the olive,” Scola said.

The chef added that he seldom cooks Taggiasca olives when using them in food preparation, as this would upset the delicate balance of flavors.

“In less-than-perfect cooking conditions, the olive turns bitter and, in any case, loses its unique characteristics. You might not even realize that you are tasting a Taggiasca,” Scola said.

“It’s better to use them as a final garnish on hot dishes, if anything, to preserve their aroma and texture,” he added.

Its unconventional use, such as in savory tiramisu, demonstrates the versatility of this olive.

“The dominant flavor there is that of the Taggiasca itself, with a layer of olive pâté and an outer dusting of olive powder, between two layers of cheese,” Scola said.

The savory tiramisu, which borrows its name from the iconic Italian dessert, is often seen as a fine dining dish that blends tradition with an innovative twist. It is frequently served at buffets and is ideal for highlighting the quality of the ingredients.

The different flavors of olive cultivars

While Ligurian chefs are proud of what many consider the most celebrated table olive in the country, table olives in Italy come from a wide range of olive cultivars.

Their taste and texture vary from north to south, leading to different uses in regional cuisines.

A clear example of regional significance can be found in the Marche region with olive all’ascolana. These large green olives are stuffed with meat, breaded and fried.

The Ascolana olive is a centerpiece of festive tables and pizzerias and was granted PDO certification in 2005 as Olive Ascolane del Piceno. PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) is a European Union certification that ensures the quality and local origin of specific foods.

The recipe, found throughout the region, calls for green olives filled with a mixture of beef, pork (and sometimes chicken), Parmigiano cheese, and nutmeg. They are then breaded and deep-fried.

In Puglia, the southern region where most of Italy’s olives are grown, local chefs utilize cultivars such as Bella di Cerignola, renowned for its large size and juicy flesh, along with Sant’Agostino, Peranzana, and Santa Caterina.

There, olives are added cold to friselle, warm to focaccia and used in both hot and cold traditional dishes prepared for holidays and special occasions.

“There are over 540 olive varieties in Italy, dozens of which are suitable for table olive production,” Roberto De Andreis, table olive tasting panel leader, author and olive oil producer, told Olive Oil Times.

Each region works with its own cultivars. In Tuscany, varieties such as Frantoio, Leccino and Santa Caterina are commonly found. In the north, around Lake Iseo and Lake Garda, Sbresa and Casaliva are cultivated.

In Ligurian cuisine, olives are also used in dishes like Ligurian rabbit, where they are added at the end of cooking to preserve aroma and texture.

In Sicily, Nocellara del Belice olives appear in caponata and pane cunzato, a rustic bread dish topped with tomatoes, anchovies, and olives. They are also used in scacciata, a savory stuffed bread prepared during festive periods.

Throughout southern Italy, including regions such as Calabria and Campania, olives are often seasoned with chili, garlic and herbs, then served warm or used in dishes like focaccia and meat.

In Campania, the well-known reddish Gaeta olives are a key ingredient in traditional dishes, such as spaghetti alla puttanesca—a pasta dish featuring tomatoes, olives, anchovies and capers.

Different preparation methods

Not all table olives are the same. Beyond the cultivar, the key differences lie in the methods used to make them edible after harvest.

The natural brine method, or “olive in salamoia” process, is by far the most common way to treat olives in Italy.

“First, the olives are harvested, cleaned, the stems and leaves are removed, and then washed to eliminate any soil residues,” De Andreis said.

“They are then placed in a brine solution with a salt concentration of around nine to ten percent,” he explained.

This method triggers natural lactic fermentation, during which the pH of the olives drops from approximately seven to below four.

“Once fermentation is complete, the olives are sorted to remove any that may have physical defects,” De Andreis said.

A fresh brine, lighter at around four percent salt, is then prepared for packaging. The goal is to allow consumers to open the jar and enjoy olives that are ready to eat, with no rinsing required.

“The jars are pasteurized, heated to 85 ºC for at least 15 minutes, and then quickly cooled down to prevent the olives from becoming too soft,” De Andreis explained.

“This process preserves the olives naturally, maintaining their flavor and texture while ensuring they are safe to consume,” he added.

Another method sometimes used for large olives is the Sevillian method, or Spanish method.

“In this case, the olives are first treated with a 1.5 percent caustic soda solution, followed by fermentation in brine,” De Andreis said.

On the market, it is also easy to find completely black olives.

“They come from another method known as the Californian method,” he said. “It uses air and ferrous gluconate and requires sterilization in an autoclave at 130 ºC. It is a faster approach, but it offers less nutritional value.”

After this process, the black olives all look the same. “And they lose most of their taste,” De Andreis said.

“The natural brine method is the best way we have to preserve the true character of an olive and maintain its nutritional value,” he added.

Scola sees a more personal and cultural dimension in how olives should be served.

“It may be a losing battle. Still, I keep telling people to take it with the brine. It won’t hurt you. It’s good for you,” he concluded.

“With Sarah & Olive, I’m on a mission to showcase the finest extra virgin olive oils produced in Spain, and because Spain is the world’s biggest producer, this means we’re talking about some of the finest extra virgin olive oils in the world,” Merrigan told Olive Oil Times.

With a background as a chef, food writer and sustainable food entrepreneur, Merrigan’s journey in the culinary world includes years spent working in Barcelona, where she developed a deep appreciation for high-quality olive oil.

“Barcelona is where I first saw how extra virgin olive oil is a real game changer in the kitchen,” she said. “I was a strict vegetarian in those days, so nutrition as well as flavor was very important to how I cooked and thought about food.” 

Merrigan noticed that while food changed with the seasons in the Mediterranean, olive oil was always a constant.

“At that time in Ireland, sauces tended to be complex and heavy, whereas olive oil is simple and light,” Merrigan said. “Rather than masking the flavor of ingredients, it elevates it, and I loved that, as my cooking is all about whatever’s in season from the market.” 

“I saw how chefs and pretty much everyone else used olive oil to make everything taste better, and with all the health benefits, there was no downside,” she added. “It was a revelation to me and changed my cooking forever.”

When Merrigan returned to Ireland, she noticed a subtle but significant shift in the Irish food scene. Although the restaurant culture remained rather old-fashioned, there was a growing emphasis on fresh produce that reminded her of the simplicity she had come to love in Spain.

Keen to be part of this emerging trend, Merrigan took a job at a farmers’ market in the city center. Inspired by the experience, she launched a weekly “box scheme,” collaborating with local producers to curate seasonal selections of organic fruits and vegetables for home delivery.

Recognizing that many customers were unfamiliar with ingredients such as artichokes and fennel, Merrigan began writing a weekly newsletter filled with cooking tips, nutritional insights and recipes tailored to each box’s contents. The newsletter eventually evolved into a popular blog, further deepening the connection with her growing customer base.

As her business grew, however, Merrigan began to find it challenging to balance the constant demands of work with her family’s needs. With three young children to care for, she eventually decided to step back from the venture to focus more on her family life.

In 2019, though, everything changed again thanks to the persuasive powers of an old friend in Spain.

“A chef friend I’d met in Barcelona convinced me to come with her to her family home in Jaén, Andalusia, to meet olive oil producers from the region,” Merrigan said. “She had spent time working in Ireland and was convinced that I had to start an olive oil business.” 

“I think meeting me with her gave producers the confidence to trust me with their brands, and once I saw that Ireland did indeed have a taste for good olive oil, I approached other producers like Nobleza del Sur and Finca la Torre, and that is when things started to take off for Sarah & Olive,” she added.

Sarah & Olive focuses on sourcing early-harvest extra virgin olive oil from award-winning Spanish producers such as Finca la Torre, Nobleza del Sur and Dehesa de la Sabina. 

These oils are celebrated for their flavors and health benefits, which are attributed to their high polyphenol content; however, the farming practices of the producers are just as important. 

Merrigan works with producers who practice organic and biodynamic farming, ensuring both sustainability and quality.

“I’ve worked in the organic sector for years, so sustainability and biodiversity are the cornerstones of how I look at all food production,” she said. “For me, they’re non-negotiable. In this age of mass-produced, generic food, it’s crucial that we support and make space for smaller, more quality-focused olive oil producers because they are the future.”

Merrigan is also a staunch supporter of projects such as Olivares Vivos, believing that the importance of sustainability goes beyond the corresponding improvements in oil quality.

“[Olivares Vivos] is a great project, and I am delighted to see that producers I work with, like Finca la Torre and Dehesa de la Sabina, are part of it,” she said. “In general, I look for producers who take their stewardship of the land seriously, who understand the role they can play in improving it for future generations.”

“At present, we are losing aspects of the natural world that will be impossible to reinstate, and the effects are increasingly catastrophic, and it’s crucial that this informs how we eat and source food,” Merrigan added. “The south of Spain is becoming more and more arid, and protecting the biodiversity and soil health there is imperative.”

From her position at the intersection of producers, suppliers and consumers, Merrigan has seen firsthand the effects of climate change, extreme weather events and disruptions to global supply chains in recent years. 

In addition to record olive oil prices at origin, she noted the impact that the soaring costs of transport and materials, such as glass and cork, have had on the industry.

“On the other hand, the public appetite and appreciation for good quality extra virgin olive oil has been growing steadily,” Merrigan said. “There is a better understanding of what extra virgin olive oil is and what goes into making a good one.” 

“This can only be a good thing,” she added. “To ensure that properly produced extra virgin olive oil has a future, it’s essential that the work involved is recognized and that producers are paid properly for what they do.”

Merrigan, who completed the Olive Oil Times Sommelier Program in London earlier this year, is dedicated to educating others about the world of olive oil. She hosts tasting events and masterclasses, often in collaboration with chefs and nutritionists, to share insights into olive oil varieties, tasting techniques and culinary applications.

“Because Ireland doesn’t have a native olive oil culture, I feel it’s important to educate people so that they can make informed choices when buying an olive oil rather than be guided by price or label,” Merrigan said. 

“From the beginning, I’ve talked a lot about things like the taste of olive oil varietals, the difference between early and later harvest, harvest dates and how to keep your olive oil in good condition,” she added. 

“And of course, as a former chef, I love showing people how to use great olive oil to make the simplest ingredients and dishes taste incredible,” Merrigan continued. “Obviously, there are all the health benefits to consider, and I think Irish people are very open to learning about these, as cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in Ireland.”

That lack of a native olive oil culture in a country famous for the quality of its butter might lead many to wonder whether Irish cooking and the Mediterranean diet are naturally compatible. Merrigan believes that there are far more similarities than one might think, though.

“Ireland is a country that produces incredible produce, and in recent years, there has been a move towards locally-grown seasonal ingredients, and I think olive oil, while not Irish, does a fabulous job at unlocking the potential of fresh Irish produce,” she said.

“A common misconception is that Irish food is stodgy and not very sophisticated. The opposite is true. There is an incredible appreciation for ingredients and provenance, with local seasonal ingredients being celebrated like never before,” Merrigan added. 

“Of course, Ireland is also a much more multicultural society than it was 20 or 30 years ago, and this has led to more diversity in the kitchen. As long as ingredients are respected, anything goes,” she concluded.

In the Hebrew scriptures, God told Moses to anoint priests with olive oil scented with myrrh and cinnamon. Ancient Greeks also offered scented olive oil to their gods.

Meanwhile, molecular analysis of Roman tombs has also demonstrated that olive oil infused with cinnamon, pine resin, frankincense or myrrh was poured over bodies before they were cremated or buried.

Two recent reports anticipate that the flavored olive oil market will double over the next decade, rising from $1.29 billion in 2024 to $2.47 billion by 2033.

Market research group Dataintelo cited increasing consumer preference for gourmet food products, the versatile culinary applications of flavored olive oils and rising awareness of olive oil health benefits as the main reasons for the popularity of flavored olive oil.

By comparison, separate data forecasts the entire olive oil market to grow more slowly, from $15.11 billion in 2024 to $19.77 billion in 2032.

While many producers see flavored olive oil as a way to diversify their product portfolio, other experts worry that the growing segment may prevent consumers from learning about the many natural flavors of extra virgin olive oil.

“Many people still need to be educated about olive oil,” said Amy Riolo, a self-described olive oil purist, Olive Oil for Dummies co-author and an award-winning chef.

“When we introduce flavored olive oil, people forget about what’s extra virgin and what’s a polyphenol,” she added. “They still won’t know anything about what makes a good quality extra virgin olive oil and all the different flavor nuances you can get from the different cultivars.”

Flavored olive oil is a broad category encompassing various production methods, including oils flavored with extracts, infused olive oils, and those produced by co-milling olives with other ingredients.

Co-milling olives with other fruits or herbs is especially popular in southern Italy, where olives are co-milled with citrus fruit, including oranges, blood oranges and lemons.

The entire fruit, vegetable or herb is added into the hopper with the olives, which are co-crushed in the mill. The paste is then malaxed to accumulate the oils from the olives and other ingredients before being centrifuged.

“The best results come from using the whole fruit, not just peel,” Riolo said. “That way, you get the juice and all of the fruit’s health benefits. It’s the most honest, pronounced flavor that is still genuine.” 

“If I am making a fish recipe that calls for orange or lemon, then [co-milling olive oil with other fruits] eliminates an ingredient, but I know I’m still getting the real flavor from the fruit and olives,” she added. “It’s a win-win.”

“It makes the process in the kitchen quicker and easier, so I can justify that,” Riolo continued. “But if it’s an artificially flavored olive oil with lemon essence, I would rather add fresh lemon zest or juice separately.”

While co-processed oils must be produced in a mill, anecdotal evidence suggests that more people prepare naturally infused olive oil at home by steeping herbs or vegetables. 

However, Riolo warned that this method can be dangerous if done incorrectly. “If the herb wasn’t adequately treated, washed or dried before use and just put into the olive oil bottle, then there is a risk for some bacterial infections,” Riolo said.

She advises adventurous home cooks who prepare naturally infused olive oil to ensure all the ingredients going into the oil are sterile and dried before steeping.  

Aside from co-processed and infused variations, olive oils blended with flavor extracts are commonly found on supermarket shelves.

“Due to scale, the [co-pressed] method is more difficult,” said Mary Mori, the vice pres­i­dent of qual­ity and research at California Olive Ranch (COR). “For us, the goal is to get the natural flavoring and add it to the oil uniformly.” 

The largest United States-based olive oil producer sells three flavored olive oils – garlic, black truffle and jalapeño herb – in squeeze bottles under the COR brand and three under its imported Lucini brand.

“The flavors in the squeeze bottle are a smaller segment category,” Mori said. “It’s much more of a niche purchase for consumers. They love them, but it’s smaller than the extra virgin category.”

“ A lot of times, extra virgin users that want to try something new and use something different in their cooking,” she added. “So oftentimes, it’s the same user that’s already been purchasing extra virgin olive oil and wants to get the flavored oils.”

Neither Mori nor Riolo sees flavored olive oil as a gateway to extra virgin olive oil consumption, with Mori highlighting similar challenges in the flavored olive oil category.

“Flavored olive oil is still a difficult category because many consumers don’t know how to use it beyond a single application,” Mori said. “That’s why it is not so popular.”

For example, she cited consumers feeling limited to using garlic olive oil for sautéing vegetables or lemon olive oil on chicken. 

Mori added that she recommends the lemon olive oil for baking, but confirmed that educating consumers about different use cases is necessary to broaden a flavored oil’s appeal.

For her part, Riolo recommends using citrusy co-pressed olive oil with seafood dishes and desserts, “but I would rather have a cultivar that I love and add citrus.”

However, Riolo’s preference for adding extra virgin olive oil to fresh ingredients makes her more sympathetic to the role of flavored olive oil in broadening the entire olive oil category’s appeal outside of its traditional food cultures.

“For markets such as Japan and India, where there is significant interest in Italian food, but different landscapes, seasons and available products, flavored olive oil kills two birds with one stone,” Riolo said.

“Putting flavored olive oil on a local fish with some salt, pepper and herbs creates a flavorful Italian dish,” she added. “The more you can get from a single ingredient, the better.”

Nancy Harmon Jenkins, a producer and the author of The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, is very blunt in her criticism of flavored olive oil.

“It’s gimmicky. It’s not real. It’s playing on public ignorance and anxiety,” she said. “I don’t like flavor in my olive oil. If I want the flavor of lemon in my salad, I add lemon juice to it.”

Harmon Jenkins added that in her experience, flavored olive oil is less versatile than extra virgin olive oil for cooking.

“ In my very limited experience with heating those flavored oils, the flavor disappears quickly, and it doesn’t infuse in the product,” she said. “If you want rosemary flavor in your dish, add rosemary, not rosemary-flavored olive oil.”

“ I know I’m a snob, but somebody has to stand up for standards,” she added.

Despite its critics, the popularity of flavored olive oil continues to grow. However, a long-time debate continues to simmer around the product’s nomenclature.

By definition, any grade of olive oil, including extra virgin, is a single ingredient food and cannot contain additives. “Flavored oils cannot be considered olive oils,” and they cannot be labeled as such under International Olive Council rules, former executive director Abdellatif Ghedira told Olive Oil Times in 2018. 

Some critics argue that since flavored olive oil is adulterated by definition—to make it impure by adding extraneous ingredients—its producers may perpetuate common misinformation about olive oil fraud. 

“It’s an uphill fight,” Harmon Jenkins said. “For some reason, the consumer is happy to believe that” olive oil fraud and adulteration are nearly ubiquitous. 

“That’s not true,” she added. “But on the other hand, I don’t think flavoring oil is any way to combat that impression.” 

While Mori said she understands the critics’ concerns, she believes labeling a flavored oil as “flavored extra virgin olive oil” is the best way to be transparent about what is in the product.

“We are adding flavoring to extra virgin olive oil,” she said. “We’re not using the [co-milled] method where you don’t know if you’re even producing extra virgin olive oil from the start.”

Mori believes “flavored oil” is too ambiguous since it does not identify the grade of olive oil used in the product. She added that she does not think the term “flavored extra virgin olive oil” confuses consumers.

“We don’t see consumer concern or confusion,” she said. “It’s very clearly in a separate area of the store where it is clear they are buying flavored oils versus extra virgin olive oil.”

• Dataintelo
• Business Research Insights
• Fortune Business Insights

Those two protagonists, deeply rooted in Mediterranean cuisine, enhance each other’s qualities, creating an extraordinary synergy of flavors and aromas.

Pairing means enhancing the bouquet of flavors.

A successful pairing aims to enrich the complexity of the meal, emphasizing flavors without overpowering any component. Balance is considered essential when selecting olive oil and wine.

Olive oils vary widely, from delicate buttery to robust and peppery, much like wines, which range from crisp and acidic whites to deep, tannic reds.

“At the beginning of a meal, a good bread with an elegant olive oil introduces the palate. The olive oil shouldn’t overwhelm your palate with bitterness,” Alex Lomazzi, sous chef at Michelin-starred Il Pulejo in Rome, Italy, told Olive Oil Times.

For example, Lomazzi cited pairing the fruit-forward Tonda Iblea olive oil with sparkling wines like Champagne or Franciacorta.

“The gentle fruitiness of the olive oil beautifully balances the crisp acidity and effervescence of sparkling wines, setting an inviting tone for the rest of the meal,” Lomazzi noted.

Such a match avoids clashing sensations, especially bitterness, that could disturb the perception of a sparkling wine.

“You don’t want olive oil disturbing the first sip of a Franciacorta. That’s why the choice must be soft and round,” Lomazzi explained.

His deep awareness of pairing came from years of practice and his background. “I started cooking in Rome, at Il Convivio, a historic Michelin-starred restaurant that taught me the elegance of flavor,” Lomazzi recalled.

After three years in the capital, he moved to France. “That’s where my focus on sauces became central. French cuisine gave me a technical foundation. Even if butter is king there, I’ve always brought olive oil with me,” he added.

Sauce is the essence of the perfect meal.

Sauces are often the secret behind remarkable dishes, tying ingredients together and elevating their flavors. 



In fine dining, sauce preparation is a subtle but powerful way to showcase olive oil and wine pairings. 



“In France, I started blending butter with extra virgin olive oil in sauces for shellfish,” Lomazzi said. “This approach enhances depth and complexity, providing new layers of flavor.”

For example, Chardonnay can play a crucial role in fish-based sauces.

“Chardonnay provides structure and complexity, and when combined with extra virgin olive oil, which captures and amplifies seafood’s essence, you achieve a velvety, rich consistency that makes a sauce exceptional,” Lomazzi remarked.

This thoughtful integration ensures the wine complements and enhances the olive oil’s specific characteristics, delivering harmonious and memorable flavors.

Thus, the sauce becomes not just an accompaniment but the heart of the dish, underscoring the importance of ingredient synergy.

Lomazzi applies the same approach to seasonal vegetables.

“Now that it’s spring, I make sauces using tender turnip greens, emulsifying them with light olive oils. The result is a green, fresh sauce with the scent of raw tomato and young fruit,” he said.

This kind of preparation enhances roasted or grilled vegetables and works wonderfully with whites that have been briefly aged in wood.

A different pairing for each season

Seasonality significantly influences pairing choices, allowing diners to enjoy ingredients at their peak freshness and flavor.

Olive oil and wine selections can shift throughout the year to reflect seasonal produce and culinary styles.

Spring and summer, for instance, favor lighter, fruitier olive oils paired with crisp, refreshing wines, enhancing the freshness of seasonal dishes.

“In spring, I prepare vegetable emulsions using milder, fruity olive oils like Coratina,” Lomazzi explained. “Imagine grilled spring vegetables paired with an elegant, lightly oaked Chardonnay, each bite fresh and vibrant.”

This careful pairing highlights the natural sweetness of vegetables, creating a refreshing dining experience ideal for warmer weather.

Autumn and winter, however, invite richer, fuller-bodied selections. Robust, peppery olive oils complement heartier ingredients such as roasted root vegetables, hearty soups, and rich, meat-based dishes.

These dishes pair naturally with robust red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah, whose tannins and complex profiles complement the intensity of robust olive oils, creating warming and satisfying culinary experiences suited to colder months.

“Lately in Rome, restaurants have started serving butter with bread, like in France, hay butter, whipped butter… It’s a trend. But when temperatures go above 20 °C, that’s the perfect time to return to our roots,” Lomazzi said.

“It is then time to bring back good olive oil to the table. It’s part of our Mediterranean culture, and it’s lighter, fresher,” he added.

The surprising pairing with fish dishes

Fish dishes provide exciting opportunities for creative pairings, particularly because of their delicate flavors, which need careful consideration to avoid overpowering.

Olive oil and wine pairings in seafood dishes must be subtle yet complementary. Lomazzi favors using Leccino olive oil for raw seafood dishes, such as shrimp or delicate raw fish servings.

“Leccino has balanced flavors with subtle almond notes, adding just the right touch of complexity,” he said.

Paired with a floral, citrus-driven white wine, this combination perfectly accentuates raw seafood’s freshness and nuanced flavors.

“It gives a slightly spicy and nutty note that works so well with raw red shrimp,” he said.

In this case, Lomazzi relies on wines that match that tone. “The wine I think of is floral, slightly tropical, with white flowers and a hint of pineapple. It has to match the sweetness of the raw shrimp and the almond note of the Leccino,” he said.

Beyond raw dishes, cooked seafood also offers intriguing possibilities. Lomazzi described how olive oil intensifies flavors in cooked fish dishes.

“Using a slightly more intense extra virgin olive oil for cooked seafood dishes helps elevate and integrate flavors, particularly when paired with fuller-bodied white wines such as Chardonnay or Viognier,” he explained.

Meat and its challenging pairing

Pairing olive oil with meat dishes can be challenging due to the meat’s robust flavors and textures. 

Cooking directly with olive oil can risk overpowering or masking the meat’s characteristics. Lomazzi acknowledged this challenge.

”Cooking meat directly with olive oil can be tricky. Instead, I use extra virgin olive oil as a finishing touch. For instance, I can pair grilled meats with smoked olive oil, a specialty from Puglia, which imparts a gentle, smoky flavor,” he said.

This finishing touch requires wines capable of withstanding the smoky, rich flavors without overwhelming the palate. Wines such as Montiano, with its soft tannins and velvety texture, complement smoked olive oil beautifully.

“Montiano’s warmth and rounded profile harmonize exceptionally well with smoky notes,” Lomazzi elaborated, making it a versatile choice for grilled meats.

“It’s a wine that I love with smoked oil on grilled meat, full, enveloping, with a nice balance. It supports the dish without competing with it,” he said.

That attention to detail is part of a broader philosophy.

”It’s rare to find restaurants that use several oils for different uses. Most chefs stick with one or two. But if you really research flavors, the right oil can unlock a dish. Just like wine,” he said.

Exploring pairings beyond tradition

Innovative chefs and sommeliers are increasingly pushing the boundaries of traditional pairings, exploring unexpected combinations that might surprise and even delight.

Aromatic olive oils infused with herbs or citrus can offer distinctive pairings, particularly wines that echo or contrast these flavors.

Lomazzi’s culinary curiosity was sparked during his time in France. ”I worked in a restaurant called Fussa. One day, I met a cousin of David Muñoz. He sold olive oil, which was produced in Tunisia and Sicily. That moment sparked my research.”

“We don’t give enough importance to olive oil. It’s cultural. Most customers in Italy never ask which extra virgin olive oil is used. But some do, and they’re the ones who appreciate what we’re doing,” Lomazzi said.

For him, olive oil deserves the same attention as wine. It varies by region, cultivar, process and season. Like wine, olive oil changes a dish.

“When you work with sauces, especially with fish, you choose the olive oil, and you choose the wine. And they become part of the same story. They speak the same language,” Lomazzi concluded.

“Our main objective is… to understand how extra virgin olive oil rich in phenolic compounds can inhibit the formation of some compounds including advanced glycation end-products in cooked food,” Ítala Marx, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Córdoba and principal investigator for Phenols4Health, told Olive Oil Times.

Advanced glycation end products are formed when protein or fat combine with sugar in the bloodstream. They contribute to increased inflammation and oxidative stress associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Our previous results indicated that phenolic compounds in extra virgin olive oil can minimize lipid oxidation and in this sense, due to its high antioxidant capacity, we hope that it also inhibits the formation of these compounds,” Marx added.

The researchers’ secondary goal is to identify cooking methods that preserve polyphenols, which degrade when exposed to heat, light and oxygen.

For example, Marx said the team has been testing different cooking methods, looking at emerging alternatives such as air frying. 

“We want to understand how different cooking methods can affect not only the phenolic composition but also the inhibition of advanced glycation end-products and the reduction of lipid oxidation in cooked foods,” she added.

The project, involving scientists from the University of Córdoba in Spain and the University of Campinas in Brazil, has already developed an extra virgin olive oil-based cracker and is working on producing flour enriched with their novel byproduct.

In one formulation, the researchers prepared the crackers similarly to regular crackers, replacing sunflower oil with Picual extra virgin olive oil produced in the Tabernas Desert in the Andalusian province of Almería. They also swapped white flour for gluten-free chickpea flour.

Due to an early harvest, the natural genetics of the Picual variety and the climate of the Tabernas Desert, the researchers selected extra virgin olive oil with a very high polyphenol content of 1,500 milligrams per kilogram.

As a result, Marx said the sensory properties of the extra virgin olive oil crackers were distinct, with a pronounced bitterness and characteristic smell of fresh extra virgin olive oil. The researchers also tested cracker formulations using refined olive oil as a control.

They aim to create products that appeal to various consumers and are healthier alternatives to typical snack foods.

Additionally, the researchers produced crackers using chickpea flour enriched with their proprietary olive oil production byproduct. 

“To ensure phenolic enrichment of the crackers and propose an upcycling strategy for the byproducts of olive oil production, we are developing formulations with enriched chickpea flour, which can further contribute to the reduction of lipid oxidation, and which we hypothesize will also prevent the formation of advanced glycation end-products”, Marx said.

“ Our previous results in other foods, including fried potatoes and breaded chicken, showed that it was possible to reduce lipid oxidation using extra virgin olive oil and enrich the foods with antioxidant compounds using the olive production byproduct,” she added.

The Phenols4Health project is part of a broader trend in the Mediterranean of researchers searching for alternative uses for olive oil production byproducts.

A 2024 study identified freeze-dried olive powder, a byproduct of table olive production that retains phenolic compounds and monounsaturated fatty acids, as a healthy ingredient to enrich baked goods, seasonings and health supplements.

Separate initiatives have repurposed olive waste into an eclectic range of products from biofuel and bioplastic to building insulation, supercapacitors and animal feeds.

For her part, Marx believes snacks enriched with the olive oil byproduct will be a growing source of revenue for olive oil producers, and new companies will specialize in making these phenolic-rich snacks.

Indeed, once the Phenols4Health project ends in May 2026, Marx is considering launching a start-up that would produce a new generation of functionally enriched foods.

“My main objective is to develop new products… that are nutritional, sustainable and healthy, as well as to create new avenues and sources of revenue for olive oil producers, ” she said.

“These results allow us to think outside the box and propose the development of new, healthy, gluten-free snacks,” Marx concluded.

The bar is situated on Bridges Street, a 300-meter street connecting Soho and Sheung Wan. It is known for its mix of historic architecture and modern vibrancy, including the Bauhaus-style Bridges Street Market.

This quieter area offers a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the nearby bustling strips of Soho.

“The olive oil sour was inspired by my love for the Whiskey Sour, a timeless classic that perfectly balances sweet, sour, and spirituous elements,” Antinori said. “We wanted to pay homage to that classic while infusing it with a Mediterranean twist that reflects our Italian roots.”

“Adding extra virgin olive oil was an idea born from our culinary heritage,” he added. “Olive oil is such an integral part of Italian cuisine, and we thought—why not elevate a cocktail with its rich, smooth texture and fresh, green flavor? The olive oil complements the ingredients and adds a velvety mouthfeel that sets this cocktail apart.”

Antinori does not use fat washing–where a spirit is infused with fat–or other similar techniques to make the cocktail; instead, he keeps the process simple.

“We add the extra virgin olive oil directly to the mix before shaking the cocktail,” he said. “This way, we preserve its flavor and texture while allowing it to harmonize with the other ingredients.”

“The key is balance,” he added. “The whiskey and sherry provide a round, nutty depth, while the honey and lemon juice add sweetness and brightness. The olive oil ties everything together, creating a harmonious and unique experience for our guests.”

Smiling, Antinori said the olive oil cocktail has received “incredible” feedback from Bar Leone’s patrons.

“Guests often comment on the silky, buttery texture and the unexpected complexity that the olive oil brings,” he said. “It’s always rewarding to see their reaction—it’s a cocktail that surprises and delights.”

Despite the positive feedback, Antinori acknowledged that the olive oil sour appeals to a particular type of cocktail enthusiast.

“It’s a drink that attracts those who appreciate the balance of sweet and sour flavors, like you find in a classic Whiskey Sour, but also those curious about innovative twists on familiar favorites,” he said.

“We often see whiskey lovers gravitating toward it because it offers the depth and complexity they enjoy, while bringing something fresh and unexpected to the table with the olive oil,” Antinori added.

The olive oil sour is also a popular drink selection for those who seek out texture in their drinks.

“The silky, buttery mouthfeel that the olive oil provides is something that surprises and delights first-time tasters,” he said. “So, in short, the olive oil sour is a cocktail for the adventurous, the discerning, and anyone who loves a well-crafted drink.”

Antinori’s olive oil sour is the latest in a steadily growing line of alcoholic beverages infused with olive oil and other products from the olive tree.

In 2022, Italian company Compagnia di San Giorgio released vodka blended with extra virgin olive oil, which gave the spirit a velvety texture.

A few years earlier, another Italian distiller released a line of gin infused with extra virgin olive oil, which added herbaceous notes and flavors to those of the juniper, angelica and cardamom.

Olive leaves and olive extract have also been used to brew beer in Italy and Spain, respectively, creating a new source of revenue for farmers who would generally compost or burn olive leaves removed during pruning.

Outside the cocktail realm, Antinori believes there is a growing interest in high-quality extra virgin olive oil in the city of 7.5 million residents.

“Italian cuisine has long been a favorite in Hong Kong, and with that comes a heightened appreciation for the essential ingredients that contribute to its uniqueness—olive oil being one of the most significant,” he said.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly discerning; they seek high-quality olive oils not just for cooking but also for how they can elevate other culinary experiences, like cocktails,” Antinori added.

He takes pride in using unconventional methods, such as the olive oil sour, to introduce people to olive oil’s versatility.

“It’s not just something to drizzle over a salad or a pasta—it can transform a drink,” Antinori said. “Seeing our guests appreciate this aspect has been incredibly rewarding, and it reflects the broader trend of growing interest in premium ingredients in the Hong Kong dining scene.”

The diet combines moderate exercise, adequate resting and socialization with healthy eating. It promotes fresh, seasonal foods and ingredients and has been gaining significant attention worldwide for its health benefits and sustainable approach to eating.

“The Mediterranean diet features low glycaemic carbohydrates and has healthy, predominantly unsaturated fats and high quality proteins often from beans and other legumes,” Simon Poole, a Cambridge-based medical doctor, author and health consultant who has spent years investigating the mechanics of the Mediterranean diet, told Olive Oil Times.

“It has been shown to be an extraordinarily healthy and sustainable pattern of eating which reduces the risk of many chronic illnesses including heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer, diabetes, inflammatory disorders and Alzheimer’s dementia,” Poole added.

There are no complicated rules to follow when following the Mediterranean eating pattern. However, some fundamental concepts must be remembered to fully reap the diet’s benefits.

The cornerstone of the diet is the combination of vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, found in dishes across the Mediterranean basin.

“There are many different regional versions of the traditional Mediterranean diet, which can include types of foods and practices specific to a particular country or area,” Poole said.

“The common denominator of the diet throughout the Mediterranean, however, is the significant variety and quantity of colorful vegetables consumed together with olive oil as the main source of fat for cooking and flavoring,” he added.

Vegetables are rich in different nutrients according to their color and intensity. Each color carries its own phytochemicals, the natural compounds that strengthen the plants’ immune system. Consuming a rainbow of colored fruits and vegetables ensures that the human body receives various nutrients that can protect it from chronic diseases.

In the Mediterranean diet, consuming more vegetables more often means including vegetable casseroles like the Greek ‘lathera’ in a weekly meal plan rather than resorting to dishes such as pasta mixed with greens, which can often be high in carbohydrates.

While vegetables and fruits should be in everyone’s everyday vocabulary when embracing the Mediterranean way of eating, other typical foods of the Mediterranean diet include whole grains, beans and other legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices.

“Ultra processed foods have no presence in the diet, with red meat consumed in smaller amounts and generally replaced with plant sources of protein, fish or poultry,” Poole said.

For absolute beginners, Poole suggested that a first-time Mediterranean supermarket basket should contain two portions of vegetables, one portion of fruits such as grapes or blueberries, nuts, beans, olive oil, herbs and spices.

“Consuming a moderate amount of fermented dairy like yogurt and cheese, especially from goat or sheep milk is also very much part of every day,” he said. “Desserts mainly consist of fruit dishes with occasional added sugars usually coming from honey.”

Nancy Harmon Jenkins, an author and authority on Mediterranean cuisines, said switching to the Mediterranean diet is fairly easy.

“Ingredients are for the most part easily available in most American markets and the techniques involved are straightforward and don’t require a cooking school background,” Jenkins said.

She noted, however, that Americans are hesitant about increasing their daily consumption of vegetables.

“I have never understood the American resistance to vegetables, unless it comes from the fact that most people don’t have access to fresh flavors,” she said. “We do need to consume more fruits and vegetables and doing it the Mediterranean way is probably the easiest.”

“Take any green, from spinach to broccoli to my new favorite escarole, steam it or cook it until just limp in a small amount of salty water, then drain it and return it to the cooking pot with a chopped clove of garlic and two tablespoons of olive oil,” Jenkins added. “Toss over heat until the greens are fully cooked and then serve as is, perhaps with a spritz of lemon juice over the top.”

Poole highlighted the pivotal role of extra virgin olive oil in the Mediterranean diet and its contribution to the regime’s health benefits.

“There is no single ingredient which is comparable to olive oil in its contribution as a proportion of calories or its ubiquitous presence in any other diet in the world,” he said.

“Not only does the oleic acid promote good cholesterol levels, but it also has antiinflammatory effects and can support healthy glucose regulation,” Poole added. “The polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil, often characterized by the pleasant bitter and pungent notes in a good quality oil, have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.”

He added that combining extra virgin olive oil with other foods can be highly beneficial.

“Extra virgin used for frying fish, for example, has been shown to protect the fish oils from breakdown and with vegetables, many of the nutrients and polyphenols released during cooking are absorbed and exchanged in extra virgin olive oil, leading to increased absorption and availability,” he said.

Jenkins suggested using different types of olive oil for other cooking uses: an expensive, recently-harvested extra virgin olive oil to use raw in salads and garnishing soups and a less costly but still extra virgin oil for cooking and frying.

“I would recommend investing in excellent olive oil, as well as the best pasta, rice and dried beans that you can afford,” she said. “Meat and fish should also be the best you can afford but not necessarily the most expensive. The Mediterranean diet is full of recipes for using cheaper cuts of meat, cheaper kinds of seafood.”

Another practical idea that works is to use last year’s extra virgin olive oil for cooking, provided that it has been stored properly and the new season’s extra virgin olive oil for topping a Greek salad or making an olive oil-based cake.

“Be aware that there are no bargains in extra virgin,” Jenkins said. “It is an expensive product for good reasons, and if you find a steeply discounted oil that’s because it has a defect, most often being that it’s severely out of date.”

When embracing the Mediterranean eating pattern, there are myriad recipes available from various resources, including books, articles and online material.

Even so, newcomers to the Mediterranean diet may lose their footing as they familiarize themselves with its ins and outs. However, the diet’s relaxed, flexible approach to enjoying good food is the key to seamlessly getting back on track.

“The Mediterranean diet is not meant to be restrictive but rather celebratory of the good flavors in really good ingredients,” Jenkins said. 

“But let’s say you slip up and add butter and sour cream to your baked potato, instead of a dollop of the very best extra virgin olive oil,” she added. “No one is collecting points, so you can just make up for it by having a salad with an olive oil dressing, full of healthy greens and other vegetables, on the side with your naughty baked potato.”

“Do remember that extra virgin olive oil is very good for you but it is, in the end, a fat,” Jenkins concluded. “Don’t add it to a diet that’s already high in fat. Use it instead, substitute it for more common fats. You won’t regret it and, you know, you just might lose some weight when you do.”

• Nutrition Australia

Melomakarona and kourabiedes are Greece’s most beloved Christmas sweets, found in every home, bakery and pastry shop across the country during the festive season.

Made with simple ingredients, these decadent little cookies boast different but festive flavor profiles. Kourabiedes are also more crunchy, while melomakarona feel softer to the mouth.

Both melomakarona and kourabiedes classify as gateaux de voyage or travel cakes, meaning they are not refrigerated and can also withstand the jolts of traveling.

Melomakarona (pronounced meh-loh-mah-KAH-roh-nah, singular melomakarono) is probably the most classic Greek Christmas delicacy and a popular treat in the country during the holiday season.

Melomakarona are cookies made from flour, olive oil, sugar and orange juice, drenched in honey syrup with crushed walnuts for the topping. Cinnamon and orange zest can also add extra flavor to the mixture.

Variations, such as melomakarona covered in chocolate or stuffed with walnuts and even plums, also exist.

Some recipes also suggest replacing about a third of the flour with semolina, which helps to soak up the syrup and makes the melomakarona succulent on the inside.

When making melomakarona, high-quality olive oil is an indispensable ingredient.

“Only the season’s fresh extra virgin olive oil goes into our melomakarona,” Konstantinos Daremas, a fourth-generation baker and the owner of a pastry shop in Markopoulo near Athens, told Olive Oil Times. “This way, we get great flavor accompanied by the countless healthy attributes of the olive oil.”

“The olive oil comes from our privately owned, organic groves,” he said. “And if needed, we buy more extra virgin olive oil from certified organic producers. The price of extra virgin olive oil has skyrocketed in the last couple of years, but we make no compromises.”

Daremas also disapproved of substituting a small amount of vegetable oil for olive oil in the preparation of melomakarona.

“Some cooks and bakers supposedly use vegetable oil to make the melomakarona lighter, but they just use it to cut costs,” he said. “The vegetable oil adds nothing to the melomakarona in terms of flavor or consistency.”

Food blogger Eva Monochari advises exclusively using extra virgin olive oil to make melomakarona, especially from the Manaki or the Koutsourelia olive varieties that give mild, fruity oils perfect for making cakes and sweets.

Another secret to making delicious melomakarona is not to overwork the dough but to knead it until all the ingredients are mixed.

In their basic recipe, melomakarona are vegan and suitable for those who fast since they contain no egg or butter, especially if the honey used to prepare the syrup is replaced with maple or agave syrup.

Made with everyday ingredients, melomakarona are also healthier than most Christmas sweets and desserts.

“I love eating melomakarona,” nutritionist and registered dietician Elena Paravantes said. “I actually feel good about it because they really represent what the Greek Mediterranean diet is all about: delicious food made with good-for-you ingredients.”

“On the one hand, yes, these sweets have plenty of sugar, but on the other hand the olive oil, the honey, the orange zest and the walnuts are all sources of antioxidants,” she added. “Most importantly, the fat from the melomakarona comes exclusively from olive oil.”

Chef Petros Syrigos suggests using the melomakarona all year round as regular cookies without the honey syrup, as they can perfectly complement a cup of coffee.

Kourabiedes (pronounced koo-rah-BYED-es, singular kourabie) is another Greek Christmas delicacy, competing with melomakarona for the title of the country’s most popular Christmas sweet.

Covered in a veil of powdered sugar, these snowy round or crescent-shaped cookies are the perfect delight for the holiday season.

Unlike melomakarona, which are exclusively associated with the holiday season, kourabiedes are made in Greek homes and pastry shops all year round. They are also a popular treat at weddings and other celebrations.

The most common recipes for kourabiedes include butter as the primary fatty ingredient. In some regions of Greece, however, such as the Peloponnese and Crete where olive oil is abundant, traditional kourabiedes recipes favor extra virgin olive oil for making the decadent sweets.

Food blogger Maria Patsia was a fan of kourabiedes made with butter. However, she was thrilled when she came across a recipe for kourabiedes with extra virgin olive oil, ouzo and walnuts.

“[The recipe] challenged me as it said it would convince even the most fanatic of butter kourabiedes… curiosity made me try it,” she said. “And I am certain that you have never eaten anything like that before.”

When making olive oil kourabiedes, no conversion of quantities is needed to replace butter with olive oil since the kourabiedes recipes with olive oil are self-sustaining.

Apart from the olive oil, flour, sugar, egg yolks, almonds, and icing sugar used for sprinkling after baking are used to make the kourabiedes.

Some recipes leave out the egg yolks, making olive oil kourabiedes a tasty vegan option.

The almonds are roughly chopped and added to the mixture. Alternatively, a whole almond is added to the center of each kourabie before baking.

A crucial step when making kourabiedes is to whisk the olive oil and sugar well until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy. The rest of the ingredients are then gradually added to the mixture. A slight hint of ouzo in the dough adds a spicy twist to the scrumptious cookies.

Some also suggest freezing the olive oil before using it so that the dough for the kourabiedes becomes fluffier.

“Back in the day, people used to sink a bottle of olive oil into a well until it was ice cold, and then they would use it as the base for fragrant, fluffy and gritty fasting kourabiedes,” home cook Roula Voulga said.

As part of the festive spirit that takes over everyone during Christmas, a hot topic of discussion in Greece is whether to opt for melomakarona or kourabiedes.

However, when in a Greek home during the festive season, visitors will likely be treated with a pair of a melomakarono and a kourabie nested together on a plate.

And so, the eternal ‘melomakarona or kourabiedes’ dilemma has been answered.

• Olive Tomato
• Miss Tasty

Pastry chefs and olive oil producers in Italy are showcasing their new panettone creations in time for the holiday season when this specialty is enjoyed across the country.

In Puglia, the southern Italian region renowned for its olive oils, a national contest called Olea Dulcis (“Sweet Olive” in Latin) has celebrated the extra virgin olive oil panettone for the first time.

“Panettone is traditionally made following strict disciplinary standards, which require butter as the main fat,” Luigi Cremona, a food and wine critic overseeing the Olea Dulcis event, told Olive Oil Times.

“In 90 percent of cases, the high-quality butter used by Italian pastry chefs is not Italian,” he added. “The idea behind panettone with olive oil is to create a cake that better represents our national identity.”

The road to the new panettone

Replacing butter with extra virgin olive oil means innovating a centuries-old tradition rooted in the “large bread” first appearing in 16th-century northern Italy.

“We began working on the recipe for the new panettone in 2022,” said Nicola Olivieri, owner of the award-winning patisserie-laboratory Olivieri 1882 in Veneto, northern Italy. “It took us over a year to find the perfect balance of extra virgin olive oil, and we are now fully satisfied with the results.”

“The primary motivation behind this decision has been our customers,” he added. “Many of them have been requesting alternatives to classic panettone and traditional butter-leavened pastries that are suitable for individuals with lactose intolerance.”

The award-winning extra virgin olive oil producer Frantoio Bonamini in Veneto partnered with the local pastry factory Pasticceria Zerbato to create its first PanettOlio for this season.

“Our goal is to elevate the value of extra virgin olive oil, showcasing it not only as a healthy food but also as a versatile ingredient that enhances every course of a meal, from antipasto to dessert,” said owner Sabrina Sartorari.

The making of the new extra virgin olive oil panettone

The pastry chefs at Zerbato are substituting butter with extra virgin olive oil in a one-to-one ratio.

“Still, you must consider that the whole of olive oil is fat, while in butter, the fat part is approximately 72 percent,” Sartorari said. “As a consequence of such extra virgin olive oil use, the panettone is incredibly soft, light and fluffy.”

“The most significant difference between making an extra virgin olive oil panettone and a traditional one lies in the kneading process,” she added. “For the extra virgin olive oil version, kneading takes more time, as the dough needs to absorb the oil fully.”

Olivieri agreed. “We’ve definitely faced challenges incorporating the fats into the gluten network, especially because we use a significant amount of olive oil to replace the butter,” he explained.

Choosing the most suitable extra virgin olive oil is crucial for achieving the perfect result.

“Using robust extra virgin olive oils in pastry making can feel too strong or overpowering, given the delicate nuances of the cake itself,” Sartorari said. “Since we primarily produce mild extra virgin olive oils, we opted for our own San Felice.”

“Using it allows us to fully replace butter and transition from an animal fat to a vegetable fat, with all the associated positive and health benefits,” she added.

Lorenza Vitali, an Olea Dulcis organizer, called butter “extraordinary” for baking but said olive oil allows for more versatile flavor schemes.

“Butter dominates and enhances the other ingredients in the cake,” she said. “When you taste traditional panettone, you fully experience its intoxicating and marvelous buttery aroma.”

“On the other hand, olive oil gives more room for the flavors of the leavened cake and the flour to shine,” Vitali added. “Using a mild extra virgin olive oil allows the other ingredients to take center stage.”

The making of an extra virgin olive oil panettone

Making panettone at home requires significant expertise in managing the ingredients and mastering the leavening and baking processes.

One of the most challenging steps is working with the sourdough starter, which adds a broader complexity of flavors compared to easy-to-use alternatives like baker’s yeast.

Replacing butter with extra virgin olive oil often requires a longer preparation time.

The correct amount of olive oil can vary depending on the chosen extra virgin olive oil, its flavor profile, and how easily the dough absorbs it during kneading.

Some experimentation is necessary to achieve a perfect homemade extra virgin olive oil panettone.

The extra virgin olive oil panettone by Italian olive oil producer Olio Carli includes extra virgin olive oil (eight percent), natural sourdough starter (six percent) (wheat flour, water), candied orange peel (orange peel, glucose syrup, sugar), wheat flour, fresh egg yolks from free-range hens, raisins, honey, brown sugar, water, salt, and natural flavoring.

Many other ingredients can be added or partially replace the more traditional ones, such as vanilla bean or extract, citrus zest (such as orange or lemon), candied citron or other dried fruits like cherries, apricots or figs, chocolate chips or cocoa nibs, almond flour or finely ground nuts, liqueur (such as rum, amaretto, or marsala) to soak the fruits, milk or cream, spices like cinnamon or nutmeg and toppings such as glazed almonds or pearl sugar.

However, drying methods have been associated with poorer nutritional profiles. New research suggests that freeze-drying can yield products with significantly higher phenolic content.

According to the International Olive Council, more than three million kilograms of table olives were produced globally during the 2022/23 crop year, and production levels continue to rise.

As a result of this production, more than 150,000 kilograms of waste is generated, approximately three to five percent of which comprises olives that fail to meet quality standards due to their size, visual defects or mechanical damage.

Although a great deal of progress has been made in recent years in transforming olive waste into products such as biofuel, building insulation and even supercapacitors, these applications are derived from olive pits.

Despite their high nutritional value, the edible discards are generally disposed of as fertilizer or animal feed.

A new study published in the journal LWT explores the potential of using table olive industry discards as a raw material for creating table olive powder with nutritionally significant levels of substances such as oleic acid, fiber, vitamins and phenolic compounds.

By converting fruit waste into powder, the authors hope to enhance sustainability and reduce waste in the industry.

The researchers studied two types of discards, green pitted olives and anchovy-stuffed olives, provided by a Spanish table olive producer.

The discarded olives underwent convective drying at two different temperatures (50 ºC and 70 ºC) and freeze-drying to produce powder samples. Then, the researchers assessed each drying method’s effects on the powders’ nutritional composition, antioxidant activity and lipid oxidation.

Analyses revealed that all powders retained high levels of fiber, lipids and protein, although their exact composition depended more on the type of raw material than on the drying process.

Anchovy-stuffed olive powders contained higher protein and ash (minerals such as sodium, potassium, iron and calcium) content but lower fiber and lipid levels than pitted olive powders.

The authors also note that these powders required longer drying times due to higher initial moisture content. They added that this prolonged drying process might contribute to subtle differences in the powders’ final composition and physical properties.

The phenolic content, a key measure of bioactive properties, was highest in freeze-dried powders, with values exceeding 2,500 mg GAE/kg (milligrams of gallic acid equivalents per kilogram).

Convective drying, especially at 70 ºC, resulted in significant losses of up to 70 percent of phenolic compounds. This reduction aligns with previous findings that high temperatures degrade many bioactive compounds. Freeze-dried samples also maintained better antioxidant activity, suggesting their potential as a source of natural antioxidants.

Moisture content in all powders was reduced to below 2.54 percent, ensuring long shelf life and resistance to microbial spoilage.

Lipid oxidation, measured using peroxide and thiobarbituric acid indices, was lowest in freeze-dried powders, indicating better stability against rancidity, another key factor in maintaining quality over time.

Anchovy-stuffed powders exhibited higher oxidation levels due to their fish paste content, which contains polyunsaturated fatty acids prone to oxidation. Nevertheless, the overall lipid quality of these powders remained within acceptable limits, suggesting their suitability for use in food formulations.

In addition to nutritional and functional properties, the study noted visible changes in the powders’ appearance depending on the drying method.

Convective drying caused browning, reduced lightness and altered color indices, particularly at higher temperatures. Freeze-dried powders retained a more vibrant and consistent color, which may be more desirable for commercial applications in which sensory qualities are valued alongside nutritional properties.

The study concluded that freeze-drying is the optimal method for producing high-quality olive powder due to its ability to preserve phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and sensory qualities.

However, convective drying remains viable for industries that prioritize cost-effectiveness and shorter processing times.

The researchers hope their work will provide a foundation for scaling production and integrating table olive powder into food formulations such as baked goods, seasonings or health supplements.

October and November are traditionally when most Italian olives are harvested and transformed into olive oil.

“One of the most interesting effects of the arrival of new extra virgin olive oils is the enthusiasm it sparks among quality producers and consumers alike,” Emanuele Natalizio, founder of the Olive Oil Gala in Puglia and chef at the historic restaurant Il Patriarca in Bitonto, told Olive Oil Times.

“Most newly early-harvested olive oils have specific characteristics,” he explained. “They don’t offer a broad range of pairings because the first olive harvested in the region is typically very delicate, with bitterness, spiciness and a balanced yet moderate polyphenolic profile.”

“The unique aspect of the new oil, being a fresh and early pressing, is always a distinct presence of chlorophyll,” he added. “When you look at this olive oil, its emerald green color stands out, and you can sense all its flavors, like the almond scent characteristic of Bitonto’s olive oils.”

The new season brings fresh extra virgin olive oil pairing possibilities

Considering the changing season and its bounty, Natalizio shared some tips for showcasing extra virgin olive oils at their best.

“A good combination for this time of year, when they’re at their peak, is with pumpkins,” he said. “You can go for a pumpkin risotto or pair it with chestnuts, which are also in season.”

“Or you could try pappardelle pasta with pumpkin and a sprinkle of salted chestnut on top,” Natalizio added. “But they also work in desserts. The same dessert could be made with pumpkin flour, caramelized chestnuts, and, of course, olive oil. Or you could pair olive oil with a chestnut cream.”

Olive oil pairs perfectly with mushrooms as autumn becomes winter

“The typical Apulian cardoncello mushroom works well in a meat dish, like lamb ribs,” Natalizio said. “Baked with cardoncello, a simple seasoning of garlic, parsley and basil creates a light marinade, highlighting the mushroom’s sweet and slightly bitter flavor, which has a nice texture.”

The extra virgin olive oil it is paired with enhances the mushroom’s qualities. “When served warm, the olive oil acts as an aroma enhancer,” Natalizio said.

Time to use extra virgin olive oil for cooking

“As the new season kicks in, my patients increasingly ask me for recipes that use extra virgin olive oil for cooking, to favor the consumption of warm foods,” said Monica Binello, a biologist specialized in therapeutic nutrition in the northwestern city of Turin.

“Look at very important molecules, such as lycopene, a molecule found in tomatoes believed to have anti-tumor properties,” Binello noted. “In that case, the combination of high temperatures and extra virgin olive oils impacts the molecule and makes it significantly more bio-available.”

Along with lycopene, she added that other molecules exhibit similar behaviors when combined with extra virgin olive oil.

“Beyond such benefits, using extra virgin olive oil in cooking seasonal food such as chicory, broccoli, cauliflower or even artichokes might also stimulate digestion,” she said.

“That happens because when cooking vegetables in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, a lipid layer is formed and it stimulates the production of gastric juices,” Binello added.

She suggests that people with digestive difficulties boil raw vegetables in a pan before cooking them with olive oil.

“This way, they dry up a bit and become more digestible thanks to this lipid layer,” she said.

Binello recommended extra virgin olive oil in pinzimonio, a traditional dressing based on olive oil, salt, pepper and sometimes vinegar, as a classic winter dish.

“When we talk about winter food, extra virgin olive oil might be proposed raw with seasonal vegetables in pinzimonio, such as celery, carrot and fennel, where the extra virgin olive oil used raw enhances all its properties as well as those of the raw food, such as vitamins A and E, and phenols,” Binello explained.

Pumpkin Vellutata soup

Vellutata is an Italian velvety cream that is usually made by blending vegetables. The name comes from velluto, the Italian word for “velvet,” a direct hint to the smooth texture of the serving.

While other cooking fats are occasionally used, extra virgin olive oil is considered the best fat for such a dish.

“In Pumpkin Vellutata, the garlic is sautéed in extra virgin oil, then the pumpkin is added, cooked, passed through a food processor and is eventually adjusted with cornstarch to get the creaminess you want,” Binello said.

“Once you are there, you can still add some ricotta or Parmigiano cheese and then a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil,” she added.

Such a choice of ingredients in combination with extra virgin olive oil is not only a matter of taste.

“I recommend it because, for example, with ricotta and Parmigiano, it gets enriched in calcium,” Binello said. “Olive oil by itself also favors the bio-availability of calcium and the bone remineralization process.”

“That is why I suggest this serving during menopause, for example, or in cases of osteopenia, pregnancy, during childhood and more,” she added.

The vegetable classic: Trifolato Artichoke

The crisp autumn air and the onset of winter often stimulate the appetite of many Italians.

“I always say to my patients that we need to privilege quality over quantity, as lots of healthy servings can satisfy the palate without leaving the perimeters of the Mediterranean diet,” Binello said.

Such is when sautéing seasonal vegetables with high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

“Looking at someone in good health and with no specific illnesses, I would propose seasonal vegetables such as trifolato artichoke,” Binello said.

Trifolato is a cooking method that adds garlic and parsley to the sauté pan as ideal companions for the main vegetables. This technique is widely used in Italy for preparing various dishes, with mushrooms being the most popular choice.

“Artichokes are not only tasty but also good for those who need liver stimulation. Of course, they are not a choice for those who suffer from hepatopathies or intestinal inflammation,” Binello explained, stressing how seasonal food choices must be tailored to personal taste and health conditions.

Similar considerations apply to other popular vegetables in Italy, such as chicory, traditionally sautéed in olive oil, with or without garlic, often accompanied by artichokes and sometimes other vegetables like potatoes.

The perfect wintery salad: Orange Fennel

A classic in Italian culinary tradition, orange and fennel salad showcases the natural pairing of seasonal ingredients, especially when enjoying raw foods seasoned with extra virgin olive oil.

“The orange and fennel salad is a perfect serving in the season,” Binello said. “Of course, it would not be a good choice for those who have diabetes or gastric conditions.”

She added that she often includes olives in the salad along with the extra virgin olive oil for the flavor and as another source of vitamin E.

“With the vitamin C coming from the oranges and the diuretic and anti-meteoric effect of fennel, it comes perfect for the season,” Binello said.

“And then, for a perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, why choose anything different from some grilled bread with extra virgin olive oil on top,” she added.

Natalizio is on the same wavelength. “One of the best things you can do with freshly pressed extra virgin olive oils is to savor their exquisite taste and uniqueness with the king of all dishes: olive oil on bread,” he concluded.

In restaurants, extra virgin olive oil is used not only as a cooking oil but also as a finishing oil to add flavor and depth to an eclectic range of dishes.

Chefs appreciate its versatility and ability to enhance both simple and complex flavors. As a result, extra virgin olive oil has become a go-to ingredient in some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants.

Now, the brothers behind Frantoio Pruneti have opened a new restaurant amongst the rolling hills and silvery green olive groves in Greve, Chianti, in the heart of the central Italian region of Tuscany.

“We have been waiting for the right moment to share our ideas with everyone who loves good Italian food,” said co-owner Gionni Pruneti.

“This concept is a dream created to make guests’ experience unforgettable and to develop correct oil culture while being promoters of a good and healthy lifestyle,” added Paolo Pruneti.

The new Evo Cucina, Extra Floor Restaurant, is dedicated to showcasing the quality and versatility of its award-winning extra virgin olive oils.

Since 2016, Frantoio Pruneti has been awarded annually at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, including a Gold Award in 2024 for an organic medium Frantoio monovarietal.

The small restaurant, which has its roots in the 2019 opening of the first Pruneti Extra Gallery, offers an intimate and exclusive dining experience where every dish is thoughtfully crafted to highlight the rich, aromatic notes of the extra virgin olive oils.

The brothers anticipate that extra virgin olive oil’s distinctive flavor and healthful reputation will appeal to health-conscious and adventurous foodies.

Whether used in salad dressings, marinades, or as a key ingredient in pasta dishes and sauces, extra virgin olive oil adds a delightful dimension to every recipe.

“Each recipe contains extra virgin olive oil to provide a real exploration of Chianti Classico Flavor, as continuous care is taken through the process, ensuring consumers the best of our products and a real experience through the culture of extra virgin olive oil,” Gionni said.

Pruneti’s extra virgin olive oil takes center stage in every dish, served and incorporated in various ways to elevate the dish to new heights.

“The most funny and interesting thing is that most of the time, extra virgin olive oil is not even used in its natural consistency but transformed into a cream, a mousse or even a mayo or a butter,” Gionni said.

Several extra virgin olive oil varietals exist, each with a distinct flavor profile. Delicate has a mild flavor and is often used in light cooking, marinades and salad dressings.

Medium is slightly more robust and is great for sauteing, grilling and roasting, while robust is bold, peppery and great for hearty dishes or as a finish.

Throughout the tasting menu, starters and mains, Frantoio Pruneti’s eclectic range of olive oils complements each dish, from a Fruttato Equilibrato, which balances the beef tartar and trout caviar starter, to the Fruttato Intenso, which highlights the flavors of a local lamb cut.

Monovarietal Moaiolo and Frantoio oils, Colline di Firenze and PDO Chianti Classico also feature in various dishes, adding to the flavors and textures of classic Tuscan delicacies.

The olives are grown only a few feet away in the family’s ancestral olive groves, creating a literal field-to-table experience.

“We are not just the restaurant owners,” Paolo said. We are the farmers of our fields, the producers of our extra virgin olive oil, and the bottler, seller and promoter of our extra virgin olive oil.”

Including extra virgin olive oil in each dish does not stop on the plate. It is also incorporated into signature beverages and desserts, further elevating the experience and use of olive oil.

For example, Pruneti Fruttato Intenso complements the dark chocolate cream on the dessert menu. Meanwhile, a milder Fruttato Equilibrado highlights the sheep’s milk ricotta mousse and a monovarietal Frantoio complements the fiordilatte ice cream on the almond and orange cake.

In partnership with chef Chiara Valsecchi and hospitality expert Roberto Selvi, the paring of each course is meticulously considered with special selections of wine or the Pruneti mixOILogy beverages.

No detail was left to chance in this new Evo Cucina, which the brothers said promises a unique and delicious experience while teaching visitors about extra virgin olive oil.

They hope that by implementing these strategies, restaurants like The Extra Floor can effectively promote extra virgin olive oil while educating customers about its versatility and health benefits.

The decision comes as the company announced a third consecutive quarter of falling sales fueled by a ten-percent decline in North America. Starbucks also suspended a previously planned outlook for the 2025 fiscal year.

“It is clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers,” newly installed chief executive Brian Niccol told investors on a conference call where he outlined plans to streamline the company’s sprawling menu and speed up service by simplifying baristas’ jobs.

“My experience tells me that when we get back to our core identity and consistently deliver a great experience, our customers will come back,” the former Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill executive added. “We have a clear plan and are moving quickly to return Starbucks to growth.”

Oleato was the brainchild of former chief executive Howard Schultz, who said the inspiration for the drink came after an extended trip to Sicily, where he was introduced to the custom of drinking a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil before his morning coffee. Later, he started mixing the olive oil directly into the coffee.

The coffee line included five hot and cold brewed beverages made with a tablespoon of Nocellara del Belice extra virgin olive oil sourced from an award-winning producer in Partanna.

The beverage line debuted in Italy in February 2023 and has since spread to stores in Canada, China, France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Starbucks has not publicly said whether it will discontinue Oleato from its international stores, where sales declined in 2024.

During its year-and-a-half run, the Oleato line of beverages was met with enthusiasm and skepticism.

From the outset, some experts hoped Starbucks could become a global olive oil ambassador by introducing extra virgin olive oil to the next generation of consumers and providing a new platform for olive oil producers.

Some U.S.-based Starbucks locations even sold bottles of Oleificio Asaro dal 1916’s Partanna Robust blend, used to make the beverages. However, it is unclear what impact this additional sales channel had on the Sicilian producer.

Despite a then-bullish Schultz claiming Oleato would “transform the coffee industry” and his successor, Laxman Narasimhan, describing the beverage launch as “highly successful” and “one of the top five product launches in the last five years,” customers and critics were giving the beverage mixed reviews.

While some customers enjoyed the “super rich, creamy, and nutty flavor,” others reported cramping and experiencing a laxative effect after drinking the olive oil coffee beverage. Dieticians attributed this to the combination of high levels of fat and caffeine.

Baristas and managers at several stores also confirmed to Bloomberg News that the item was not very popular.

• Starbucks
• Bloomberg News

Since ancient times, vegetables stored in containers such as amphoras have been covered with olive oil. The Romans were well aware of its food-preserving qualities.

Consumers of that era could enjoy off-season foods, and oil-preserved items fueled the food trade for centuries.

Moreover, olive oil has been readily available in Puglia for centuries. Today, the region remains the heart of olive oil production in Italy.

Nowadays, produce preserved in olive oil, known as sottoli, represent a significant portion of the food market in Puglia and throughout Italy.

Recent data indicates that 72 percent of Italians routinely consume sottoli, with sales exceeding 84,800 tons per annum and a total turnover for Italian producers of nearly €700 million.

“The most popular sottoli originate from the Apulian traditions; they include artichoke, cardamom, eggplant and tomato,” said Gennario Belfiore, owner of his family’s food preserves shop in Matera.

Lampascioni bulbs, dipped and preserved in extra virgin olive oil, are sold online globally.

These vegetables grow underground, almost exclusively in Puglia’s arid and calcareous soil and neighboring Basilicata. They possess a unique flavor, intense and slightly bitter, and are a staple of Apulian cuisine.

Apulian tradition also features turnips, chili peppers, ground chili, dried tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, spicy garlic, wild vegetables, onions, capers, chicory, puntarelle chicory and peppers.

“There are hundreds of different sottoli crafted by Apulian growers and preserved with olive oil,” Belfiore said. “Not only vegetables but also cheeses like pecorino and a long list of local recipes which perfectly combine food with a bath of extra virgin olive oil.”

Recipes include dried tomato rolls with capers and anchovies, puntarelle salads and cereal- and legume-based soups.

The in-olive oil preservation technique and its associated flavors became so popular that today, sottoli are used by many regardless of the season; sometimes, they might even be chosen over the equivalent fresh products.

The exquisite nuances of locally grown tomatoes dipped in extra virgin olive oil are featured in the fillings of the local puccia, a very large panino (sandwich) that remains wildly popular.

Lorenzo Maggi, a local cuisine expert, took a bite while looking out at the beautiful coastline of Salento.

While tomatoes are grown throughout the summer and can easily be found fresh on local market shelves, most of the filling in Maggi’s puccia is two years old.

“The tomatoes were so good at the beginning,” he told Olive Oil Times. “And they have been sitting with extra virgin olive oil for over two years. Their flavors were not only retained; they now convey a specific round flavor and a crispy texture of which I am fond.”

Local puccia makers, one of the most popular street food vendors in the southern Italian region, tend to use fresh, seasonal products in their panini. However, some flavors can only come from foods preserved in olive oil.

Moreover, these naturally-preserved products allow them to diversify their pucci beyond the boundaries of seasonal recipes.

“Pizzerias and restaurants also use them year-round, sometimes to give their appetizers a tasty twist, and sometimes to characterize a serving better,” Maggi said.

In recent years, the rising prices of extra virgin olive oil have pushed a significant portion of the industry to focus on different preserving fats.

“It surely makes sense to use extra virgin olive oil for food preserves, but at what cost?” asked Donato Palancia, an oleologist and olive oil technician at Farchioni Olii.

“Olive oil has become a significant cost for food-preserving industries,” he added. “Only a few operators can afford to use it. I see many industries not using extra virgin olive oil anymore, and some not even olive oil.”

Despite the higher costs, Belfiore said extra virgin olive oil differentiates his products.

“It pairs with processing that happens at the optimal moment of maturation, so the qualities of our products are retained,” he said. “The main difference between artisanal in-extra virgin olive oil quality preserves and industrial food preserves available from large retailers is taste, flavor and crispness.”

Like some competitors, Belfiore’s company exports extra virgin olive oil-based sottoli to Europe, the United States and Canada. “We are also seeing growing interest from Japan and New Zealand,” he said.

Belfiore added that sottoli has even helped introduce Mediterranean vegetables to global audiences, specifically citing artichoke sottoli in Japan.

Whether artisanal or industrial in origin, in-oil preserves require precise processing procedures built on understanding the risks posed by the possible growth of bacteria and other microorganisms inside the product.

“All fats are efficient preservation tools for a fundamental reason: they reduce contact with oxygen and therefore minimize oxidation reactions,” said Giancarlo Colelli, a full professor at the Apulian University of Foggia’s Science of Agriculture, Food and Environment department.

Oxidation can alter food, affecting its color and nutritional quality. Exposure to oxygen causes rancidity, a common olive oil defect.

By removing oxygen from the food containers, microorganisms that need oxygen to grow cannot multiply.

“That is not only good news; it can also be bad news,” Colelli warned. “While those microorganisms will not grow, it also means that another class of microorganisms, those that can grow without oxygen, will face much less competition and might develop more easily.”

If the products are not correctly sanitized, toxins could develop and endanger consumers’ lives. Every year in Italy, hundreds of people suffer from intoxication of this kind, almost exclusively from homemade in-oil food preserves.

“I never eat homemade sottoli because following proper production procedures is key, and that does not always happen in a household,” Colelli said. “Producers implement a series of obstacles to prevent the growth of bacteria and toxins.”

Examples of these obstacles include acidification. Whether by adding an acid or normal fermentation, a lower pH conditions the environment, preventing toxins from forming.

“Take, for instance, eggplant in oil. To make a product stable over time, producers acidify the eggplants, usually by cooking them to inactivate enzymes,” Colelli said. “We lower the acidity and add olive oil so molds and most aerobic bacteria do not develop.”

“Once we have the product, we often give it a thorough antioxidant treatment and pasteurization,” he added. “This creates a base that lasts for years.”

While fatty acids are very heat-sensitive, Colelli said extra virgin olive oil still has many protective components.

“Between extra virgin olive oil and non-extra virgin olive oil, the extra virgin oil is certainly better and is therefore recommended,” he said. “Especially for products where thermal energy treatments are not necessarily used at the end of processing, extra virgin olive oil has the great advantage of degrading less, tasting good and having a high nutritional value.”

• Il Sole 24
• Alimenti Salute

The price of cocoa reached a record-high $9,865 (€9,244) per ton in April 2024 and has since fallen slightly to $8,380 (€7,935). Before September 2023, cocoa prices had not exceeded $3,600 (€3,300) per ton in more than 30 years.

Global cocoa prices have increased due to various factors, including a failed crop due to bad weather, bean disease, smuggling, market speculation and illegal gold mining, which have reduced production and the availability of beans in Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer.

Meanwhile, drought and high spring temperatures across the Mediterranean basin in 2023 and 2024 resulted in consecutive years of poor olive harvests and decade-low olive oil production totals. The confluence of factors resulted in the International Monetary Fund’s benchmark olive oil price hitting record highs in January at $10,281 (€9,446) per ton and remaining historically high.

Rising cocoa and olive oil prices have hit a niche market of olive oil chocolatiers, including K + M Chocolates.

Founded in Napa, California, in 2017 by French Laundry chef Thomas Keller and Tuscan olive oil producer Armando Manni, the company makes its chocolate from a carefully balanced recipe that includes extra virgin olive oil and cocoa powder.

Their method preserves the richness of the cocoa bean and provides health benefits by using extra virgin olive oil instead of cocoa butter. Indeed, researchers at the University of Pisa published a study in 2017 demonstrating that extra virgin olive oil-enriched dark chocolate improved the cardiovascular risk profiles of healthy participants.

“The price of cocoa has caused an enormous strain on chocolate producers everywhere,” Hallot Parson, K+M Chocolates’ general manager, told Olive Oil Times. “We are somewhat lucky to have a decent inventory of cocoa beans, but cocoa butter has become particularly costly.”

“To give you some context, from 2019 to 2023, we typically paid between $8 and $9 (€7.40 and €8.30) per kilogram for organic cocoa butter,” he added. “The current price is around $36 (€33) per kilogram. If we were to buy a 12.5 metric ton container, which is far more than we need or could afford, the price only drops to $26 (€23.8) per kilogram plus shipping from South America.”

Fortunately for K+M Chocolates, the company’s use of extra virgin olive oil instead of cocoa butter in various products has given them a competitive advantage despite the historically high olive oil prices.

“So far, we haven’t had to raise our prices on retail chocolate bars,” Parson said. “This is largely because we use olive oil instead of much of the cocoa butter for many of the bars. However, we also focus on making premium chocolate for pastry chefs and restaurant use. For these applications, good fluidity of the chocolate is critical, and that fluidity comes largely from a higher content of cocoa butter.”

While the company has not raised its prices, Parson said food service prices were rising, impacting large European chocolate producers who have historically dominated the market.

“Ironically, we may now be in a position to offer extremely competitive pricing against these mass-produced brands,” Parson said. “This has never been possible for most craft chocolate companies due to economies of scale and the added care we put into our sourcing and production.”

Along with the rising prices for raw materials, Parson said the company faces challenges with its expansion into Asia due to the transport logistics and costs.

“We have exported to Korea several times, but ultimately, it has proven too costly to establish a presence there,” Parson said.

Despite higher prices, consumers still crave both chocolate and olive oil. According to Fortune Business Insights, a market research firm, the Asia Pacific olive oil market is projected to grow to $18.4 billion (€16.8 billion) by 2030, a 30-percent increase from 2022.

Separate research estimates the global chocolate market will grow steadily to $197 billion (€181 billion) by 2032, 50 percent above its 2023 value.

• Fortune Business Insights
• Yahoo Finance

The Michelin 3‑Star restaurant, situated half a dozen blocks from the iconic architecture of Casa Milà, was recently named the world’s best restaurant by The World’s 50 Best, a hospitality industry trade publication.

“We are three chefs,” Xatruch told Olive Oil Times. “Like me, Mateu [Casañas] and Oriol [Castro] grew up in Catalonia, a country of olive oil.”

Since they were young, Xatruch and his partners have been cooking with extra virgin olive oil almost daily. 

“These flavors remain marked in your taste memory and culinary culture,” he said. “Later, as we began to work professionally in the kitchen, we have used extra virgin olive oil naturally throughout our lives.”

“And here at Disfrutar, we make creative cuisine with a base of traditional flavor,” Xatruch added. “Of course, we are inspired by products and tastes from all over the world, but Catalan and Spanish cuisine in terms of traditional preparations inspires us, and olive oil is a product we use a lot.”

Disfrutar primarily uses Arbequina extra virgin olive oil with a Siurana Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification sourced solely from Cooperativa Agrícola Vila-Seca. Spread across 12,000 hectares west of Tarragona, the cooperative produces about 4,000 tons of PDO olive oil annually. 

“It is an extra virgin olive oil that is very fruity. It doesn’t sting; it is very pleasant in the mouth and greatly respects the original flavor of the product,” Xatruch said. “That is why it is an oil we use in 90 percent of the dishes.”

“Since it is an oil that we love,” he added, “the cooperative takes care of us,” leaving aside a significant portion of extra virgin olive oil at the beginning of each harvest specifically for the chefs at Disfrutar Barcelona.

The other 10 percent is Picual extra virgin olive oil, used in specific preparations where the chefs want a strong flavor.

Xatruch said he knows the people who run the cooperative well and frequently visits to taste the extra virgin olive oil and speak with the members.

He believes these relationships are essential for anyone who wants to achieve the highest possible quality of gastronomy: just as the quality of extra virgin olive oil is dictated by that of the olives, world-class haute cuisine begins with high-quality ingredients.

“We do this with many other products,” he said. “It is very important to know the product at its origin, know the producers and have that direct relationship… We have always said that the more local the product, the better.”

These relationships are essential after consecutive years of poor harvests in Spain, where production dipped to historically low levels, especially in Catalonia in the 2022/23 crop year.

In the kitchen, extra virgin olive oil permeates almost every step of the restaurant’s classic tasting menu, used for finishing and during the heart of the cooking process through to dessert.

“For example, we make a classic dish from Disfrutar that we call the Gilda del Disfrutar,” Xatruch said. “It is inspired by the traditional flavors of gilda, the typical Basque pincho made with piparra, a green pepper cut into pieces in vinegar, anchovy and olive.”

“We make a version using what we call a Disfrutar olive, which is an operation that we do with the olive juice and the cocoa butter that gives us a crunchy oil that remains inside,” he added. “We accompany it with anchovy slices, a piece of marinated mackerel, some piparra seeds, a little passion fruit, and we finish by dressing it with extra virgin olive oil.”

While extra virgin olive oil is mainly used to finish this dish, it plays a more prominent culinary and textural role in the restaurant’s polvorón de tomate.

“Polvorón de tomate is a classic snack of the restaurant that we finish with Arbequina caviaroli,” Xatruch said. 

The preparation begins by grinding freeze-dried tomato flakes into a fine powder, mixed with olive oil and salt before being kneaded into a dough and baked. 

The pastry-like polvorones are accompanied by Arbequina caviaroli, which is produced using a technique developed by Ferran Adria, a former colleague at El Bullí. The method involves surrounding the oil with a thin layer of water containing a gum that creates a fine gelatin capsule around the oil drop, similar to how caviar is formed.

“Instead of using the oil as a dressing, we solidify it and make some spheres of oil seeking to give the dish a texture,” Xatruch said.

Most dishes prepared at Disfrutar Barcelona use Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, which has a milder flavor. 

“Depending on the type of cuisine, we use Arbequina because it is an oil that is very delicate in texture and is not astringent,” Xatruch said. “In each dish, we look for the oil to be very harmonious.”

However, the chefs sometimes seek a more pungent extra virgin olive oil to enter the spotlight.

“For example, we made a dish where we put a water base of tomato gelatin with a little fresh cheese, and then we put basil oil, tomato oil and extra virgin oil,” he said. In this case, we used Picual to give more intensity to the dish and prominence to the oil.”

Finally, extra virgin olive oil is also featured for dessert, helping to accentuate the flavors of the chocolate.

“We have a dessert, a classic dish of Disfrutar inspired here in Catalonia,” Xatruch said. “When we opened Disfrutar, we make a dessert that we call chocolate peppers with olive oil and salt, which consists of a Trompe l’oeil [a style of painting intended to give a convincing illusion of reality].”

“We make a chocolate truffle, but it is shaped like a pepper, and we put gelatin in it,”  he added. “There is a red pepper and a green pepper. On top of the red pepper, we put a little bit of chili on it to make it spicy. On top of the green pepper, we put mint so that you have this flavor, and we finish it in front of the client by dressing the peppers with extra virgin olive oil, a little salt and a little toasted bread.”

Disfrutar Barcelona offers a fixed gastronomic offering in its classic menu and an alternative festival menu at specific times of the year, with the price of €295 per person until the end of 2024.

“Premium products have become much more expensive in the last two years,” Xatruch said. “We are a restaurant that seeks excellence, and in the end, if excellence has a higher price, then you have to pay it.”

• The World’s 50 Best

“The Greek summer is not only about the sea and the sun, it is also about flavors,” Maria Prokopiou, an Athens-based endocrinologist and diabetologist, told Olive Oil Times. “Flavors full of colors that reflect the country’s rich history and fertile land.”

“It is virtually impossible to visit Greece in the summertime and not taste the tomatoes, eggplants, beans, okra and zucchini, along with herbs such as parsley, dill, oregano and mint in a variety of recipes around the country.”

While the colorful Greek salad captivates taste buds, Prokopiou named a few more dishes that are a delight to try in the hot Greek summer.

Moussaka

Served in every restaurant and tavern across the country, moussaka is a meat and eggplant casserole topped with a layer of béchamel sauce that turns golden brown when baked.

“The king of the traditional Greek cuisine is the moussaka,” Prokopiou said. “The original recipe includes layers of sautéed eggplants and ground beef meat prepared with tomato and herbs, blanketed in a creamy béchamel sauce made with milk, flour and olive oil.”

Although the basic béchamel is made with butter mixed with flour to form a roux, a twist often found in Greece is to replace the butter with an equal amount of olive oil for a healthier outcome.

Moussaka is widely thought to have emerged in the Middle East centuries ago. However, its exact origins are mysterious. Over time, the dish incorporated elements from different cuisines, including the Ottoman Empire, to become the iconic Greek dish known worldwide.

Legend has it that the French touch to the dish – the béchamel – was added by the renowned Greek chef and advocate of French gastronomy Nikolaos Tselementes in the 1920s.

Along with excellent flavor, moussaka offers a variety of nutrients to the human body.

“The eggplant contains many antioxidants in its skin and flesh such as fiber, potassium and nasunin, a substance associated with lowering blood cholesterol and considered protective for brain cells,” Prokopiou said.

“The human body also gets good quality animal protein and iron from the ground meat, calcium from the milk used in the sauce and energy from the flour,” she added.

Nasunin, a chemical constituent found in abundance in eggplant peels, has attracted much attention from scientists for its beneficial effects on human health, such as reducing brain inflammation and its potential applications in the food industry.

“For those on a diet or watching their daily caloric intake, however, moussaka should be consumed in moderation as it can be high in calories depending on whether the eggplants are fried or baked and how lean the meat is,” Prokopiou said.

For aspiring home cooks, moussaka is a complicated dish to prepare. However, when done correctly, it generously rewards demanding palates. A modern twist is to use eggplants and thinly sliced potatoes as the base of the dish to make it more robust.

Some chefs suggest using a simple yogurt sauce instead of the béchamel for a lighter version of moussaka. This sauce is easily made with Greek strained yogurt, eggs and a touch of nutmeg.

Μoussaka can also be a vegan dish, substituting sautéed mushrooms or a tomato lentil sauce for the ground meat and a mashed potato topping for the béchamel sauce.

Green bean Lathera

Green bean (fasolakia in Greek) cooked in olive oil is a Greek staple that belongs to a special family of dishes of Greek cuisine called lathera, meaning ‘in olive oil.’

Lathera comprises dozens of recipes for plant-based meals cooked in olive oil, perfect for vegetarians or those following a meat-free diet.

“Fresh green beans are the most well-known representative of the lathera dishes,” Prokopiou said. “Stewed with onion, tomato and extra virgin olive oil, they are a fine source of fiber, vitamins and trace elements, including calcium and phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and vitamins A and K.”

Prokopiou added that these substances classify green beans as a food rich in antioxidants, which protect against free radicals. “Plus, they are low in calories,” she said.

Lathera dishes are prepared with fresh seasonal ingredients and are the kind of food that can feed whole families with budget-friendly but flavorful ingredients. Green beans and black-eyed beans, courgettes and courgette flowers, okra, peas, eggplants and artichokes can all be used to make lathera dishes.

According to Greek chef and cookbook author Dina Nikolaou, combining olive oil with vegetables is the key to bringing out the flavors in a dish.

“The basic ingredient, the olive oil, and the vegetables are ‘getting married’ to give the ultimate deliciousness,“ Nikolaou said. “And if we accompany lathera with a block of feta cheese, then we can talk about the quintessence of taste.”

In addition, the extra virgin olive oil used to prepare a lathera recipe magnifies the dish’s nutritional value.

Scientific research has found that extra virgin olive oil phenols are transferred to vegetables cooked in it. Furthermore, certain nutrients in some vegetables become more bioavailable to the human body in the presence of olive oil.

Gemista

No food brings back more childhood memories for Greeks than gemista.

Traditionally a Sunday meal for the whole family in the summer, gemista (meaning ‘stuffed’) is a traybake of tomatoes and peppers stuffed with a rice filling.

“Gemista is made with tomatoes and bell peppers that have been emptied inside,” Prokopiou said. “Their flesh is then sautéed with olive oil, parsley, grated apple, grated mizithra cheese, and rice to make the filling and stuff the emptied vegetables with. Then, the vegetables are baked after being sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil.”

Mizithra is a low-calorie, low-fat traditional Greek sheep or goat milk cheese. It is widely used in grated form as a condiment in pasta recipes.

Tomatoes, botanically classified as fruits but widely considered vegetables because they are mostly cooked or used in salads, are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant.

Prokopiou said the lycopene becomes more available as the tomatoes are cooked, which adds to the dish’s nutritional value.

All parts of a gemista dish are edible, including the skins of the tomatoes and peppers, which are softened and sweetened with cooking.

Other vegetables, such as eggplants and round courgettes, can also be used to make gemista. A few potato spuds usually complement the vegetables in the dish.

“Gemista offers a range of healthy substances, including the olive oil phenols, the lycopene, minerals and trace elements that fortify our immune system,” Prokopiou said. “In a word, gemista is a complete meal, containing protein from the cheese, carbohydrates and vegetables.”

“Greek cuisine is a unique bouquet of colors and flavors,” she concluded. Apart from the fantastic taste, it also provides us with a wealth of trace elements, antioxidants and vitamins that have many health benefits for the human body, no matter our dish of choice.”

• The Economist
• Dina Nikolaou
• ACS Food Science Technology

“I see this Sofi win as being a win for the olive oil industry, not just for my company, because the cakes are blind tested by culinary professionals against other desserts,” said Flour & Olive founder Estelle Sohne.

Flour & Olive sells four types of cake mixes. The company also provides ingredient lists for more than 70 cakes and detailed instructions for home bakers to follow for each one.

Extra virgin olive oil used to be considered a less-than-ideal replacement for butter in baking. Since olive oil mainly comprises monounsaturated fats while butter is almost entirely saturated fat, olive oil was thought to be unable to achieve the same textures as butter.

However, this has changed as chefs and home cooks explore new ways to harness extra virgin olive oil’s health benefits and flavor profiles in baked creations.

Regina Woods, the culinary director of Dos Olivos Market, has been baking extra virgin olive oil-forward cakes for about a year now. “Cater to the olive oil,” she said. “You’ll have a different flavor profile than a butter cake.”

“You get a lighter texture from the olive oil because butter is very dense, and it’s a richer fat,” Woods added. “But olive oil provides this lightness and adds a lot of air into the cake if you whisk it nicely.”

For her part, Sohne said the Sofi award proves that olive oil is a healthy alternative to butter that can also achieve superior texture and flavor.

“When you talk about baking with olive oil and the challenges that pose, it’s a matter of perspective,” she said. “If you think it’s impossible, you’re not going to try very hard, or you’re going to take a butter cake recipe and try to replace the butter with olive oil. That does not work.”

While Sohne thinks it may be best for beginners to bake with delicate extra virgin olive oils to avoid pronounced bitter and spicy flavors in the cake, she believes olive oil cakes can win over the skeptics.

“The advantage of olive oil is that it’s a healthier fat and can carry other flavors,” she said. “I think that there’s a blind spot around olive oil, that it’s the savory Mediterranean oil when actually, it’s such a versatile oil that can work with the existing flavors of other cuisines.”

Woods takes a different approach to selecting olive oil for cakes. She favors robust extra virgin olive oils with citrus notes to add complexity to her citrus-flavored cakes. “You want a robust olive oil; that way, it shines through the baking process,” she said.

Sohne’s inspiration for Flour & Olive came while visiting a supermarket and brainstorming ideas to begin her own company based around a food product.

“I wanted to start my own business, and I went down a baking aisle,” she said. “I saw traditional American cake mixes on one side and these international olive oils on the other. I decided to try to make international cakes using these olive oils.”

Sohne spent three years perfecting universal cake recipes (although there are alternative recipes for vegan cakes). She followed a near-scientific approach, removing one ingredient at a time to see how each affected the cake-baking process.

“It was very slow going, but it allowed me to increase how good the cakes were incrementally,” she said. “I must’ve baked over a thousand cakes.”

The preparation begins with an electric mixer beating the eggs for three to five minutes at high speed.

“Then you drizzle the extra virgin olive oil, add the wet ingredients and the cake mix,” she said. “Some recipes require stirring, and some require topping, but it’s a systematic set of directions that are uniform throughout the cake mixes. They’re very approachable to make.”

Sohne said achieving the desired texture involved meticulous adjustments to the leavening agents used in the cake mix and a thorough process of determining the precise amount of each ingredient.

Conversely, Woods mixes the dry and wet ingredients separately when she bakes an olive oil cake from scratch, adding the extra virgin olive oil at the end.

“Essentially, one-third of my recipe is the olive oil,” she said. “I mix zest, buttermilk and egg. After, I add the olive oil to get those flavors to meld, then slowly sift in the flour.”

Next, she recommends folding – gently combining lighter and heavier mixtures to retain air – at the very last minute to fully disperse the olive oil into the cake.

Finally, Woods bakes the cakes for longer at lower temperatures “to hold the sanctity of the olive oil and keep it from getting to very high temperatures, which changes the flavor and texture of the cake.”

Instead of baking at 350 ºF (177 ºC) as she would with a butter cake, Woods turns down the dial to 300 ºF (149 ºC).

Back in her home kitchen, Sohne said once she was convinced that her recipe could provide consistent results, she sent cake mixes, ingredient lists and baking instructions to her friends and family.

After receiving plenty of positive feedback and confirmation that the recipes worked, she launched the product, selling it online, in specialty stores and in collaboration with some producers and importers, including McEvoy Ranch, Oil & Vinegar and an Argentine extra virgin olive oil importer.

Sohne does not recommend any single extra virgin olive oil producer of variety. Instead, she believes Flour & Olive’s cake mixes should allow the consumer to experiment with different olive oils and find the best ones that suit their tastes.

“This is a collaborative product,” she said. “I never wanted the cake mix to stand alone because the goal is to showcase olive oil’s diversity.”

“These cake mixes rely on partnerships with olive oil producers and retailers that sell olive oils to pair our mixes with olive oils in a very open-ended way,” Sohne concluded.

Undeterred by changing eating habits, the owner and managers of Peskesi, an organic farm-to-table restaurant in the island’s capital, are working to rekindle the Cretan diet’s popularity. Their mission is to educate tourists and Cretans about the island’s rich culinary heritage.

“The need to revive recipes from Crete is because the traditional way of living is changing as years go by,” Zacharias Magganas, the restaurant’s manager, told Olive Oil Times.

“The people now gather in cities, leaving the villages and their traditions behind,” he added. “Globalization also affects food traditions a lot. For example, pizza and burgers are easier to find in Crete than wild greens cooked with lamb.”

The Cretan diet is widely used to describe the habitual eating patterns of 13 villages around Kastelli, in the center of the island, which participated in Ancel Keys’ study during the 1950s and 1960s.

The traditional Cretan diet is characterized by a high consumption of fruit, vegetables, cereals, and legumes with a small amount of dairy products, predominantly yogurt and cheese.

Compared with typical Western diets, the Cretan diet contains little red meat – less than 50 grams per week, mainly lamb – and more fish. Extra virgin olive oil is the diet’s primary fat source.

“You can see this by the olive oil consumption in Crete, which is 23 kilograms per annum,” Peskesi owner Panagiotis Magganas told Olive Oil Times through a translator, his nephew, Zacharias Magganas.

By comparison, annual olive oil consumption is estimated to reach 12 kilograms per person in the rest of Greece.

The Cretan diet is one variation of the Mediterranean diet and primarily differs from others due to its focus on local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. “The other key ingredient in the Cretan diet is the more than 200 types of wild greens,” Panagiotis Magganas confirmed.

“We try to be the place where you can find the ‘lost treasures’ of our land,” Zacharias Magganas added. “A good example is the promotion of manarolia or biza, a Cretan legume that owes its existence to our restaurant. Its consumption has gone through the roof just a few years after we offered it in our restaurant.”

Before founding the restaurant, Panagiotis Magganas owned an organic farm. Initially, he wanted to create an academy to teach locals and tourists about the Cretan diet.

“But for budget reasons, we made the restaurant, which is more accessible to people. From the start, we wanted to use the restaurant for educational purposes, using the food to teach people about the Cretan diet and its ingredients,” Magganas said. “Our goal is to serve traditional food in a modern way.”

According to Magganas, very few Cretan restaurants served traditional food when he opened Peskesi.

“Since Peskesi was created, the concept of the Cretan diet has started to change, and as the years have gone by, more restaurants have been trying to follow the idea of serving traditional Cretan foods,” he said. “People’s thinking about Cretan food has changed a lot through the years.”

Magganas founded the farm 25 years ago, and Peskesi has followed biodynamic and regenerative agricultural practices since.

“We are a certified organic and sustainable restaurant, but we don’t do anything more than what Cretans used to do,” he said. “The farm does not use fertilizer, phytochemicals or animal feed. “We also serve seasonally available foods.”

The restaurant tries to source all its food from the surrounding community. Whatever cannot be obtained locally is brought from other parts of Greece. “Nothing is imported from outside of Greece,” Magganas confirmed.

Four types of extra virgin olive oil are used in the kitchen: one robust olive oil for the wild green salad, a milder oil for the Greek salad, one for cooking and one for frying. No other type of edible oil is used in the food preparation.

About half of the olive oil used in Peskesi’s kitchen comes from the company’s groves, and the rest is purchased from local producers.

“For the last seven years, we’ve had an olive oil list with the same concept as a wine list: customers can choose from 10 extra virgin olive oils from Crete,” Magganas said. “Customers can pair the olive oil with food or taste it on its own to experience their differences.”

The restaurant uses three different varietals: Koroneiki, Tsounati and Chondrolia. “But we don’t look at the varieties; we look at the profile of the olive oil,” he said.

“For example, for the Greek salad, we use olive oil with intense, pungent and bitter characteristics and intense fruitiness,” Magganas added. “For green salads, we use olive oil that is less pungent and bitter but also very harmonious.”

Along with olive oil tastings at the restaurant, Peskesi offers farm tours, cooking classes and traditional bread-baking lessons. “For the past four years, the farm has opened for season since the first month of summer when the weather is nice,” Magganas said.

Many restaurant guests have returned to visit the farm. Magganas believes that guests are enthused by seeing where the food they use to prepare their meals originates and by the zero-waste philosophy behind it all.

“They love to see how we’re making compost from the leftover food from the tables, how we use everything to enrich the soil for our vegetables, the animals that live on the farm and the ecosystem,” said Agelos Bougias, who manages the farm.

“We try to make the land better, not worse,” he added. “The soil is healthier now than it was 25 years ago.”

However, Peskesi’s organic and regenerative farm-to-table model has plenty of challenges. Magganas said the traditional Cretan restaurant concept is expensive to run.

Since the restaurant only purchases locally-grown and produced food, price is not the first consideration, and the restaurant purchases more expensive ingredients to remain authentic.

Growing endemic vegetables and plant varieties at the farm often means the company sacrifices yield for authenticity. For example, Peskesi only uses a native Cretan tomato variety that produces smaller fruits than most commercial varieties.

As a result, the restaurant earns lower margins on each dish than a conventional restaurant might, which Magganas said can be difficult to communicate to customers.

However, Bougias, Mangannas and his nephew believe the restaurant is becoming a point of pride for Cretans. Mangannas points out that many tourists who visit the restaurant come based on recommendations from local people.

He believes some of this pride comes from nostalgia, with customers saying the food is reminiscent of what their grandmothers cooked for them in their childhood villages.

“All in all, the new model of living pushes our traditional recipes to the side, so our ultimate goal is to fight back and promote our food history from the Minoan times as much as possible,” Zacharias Magganas concluded.

“On entering Jerusalem, the people cheered Jesus, waving olive and palm branches,” said Milan Zgrabljić, the archbishop of Zadar, Croatia’s fifth-largest city.

After the blessing, Zgrabljić led the procession to the Cathedral of Saint Anastasia in the center of the ancient city, considered older than Rome. Everyone held olive branches in their hands.

“It is not enough to hold olive branches in our hands; it is necessary to turn olive branches into trophies of love, trophies of victory over hatred, unrest, quarrels, intolerance, unrest, quarrels, discords and every form of immorality,” Zgrabljić said.

The Holy Week continues on Maundy Thursday with the mass of consecration of olive oils donated by olive growers from Žman on the island of Dugi Otok. The olive oils were transported to Zadar by bracera, a traditional boar.

The bishop will bless three oils: sick oil, used to anoint the sick; catechumen oil, used to anoint the baptized; and chrism, a mixture of olive oil and fragrance (mainly balsam), used in baptisms, confirmations and priestly and episcopal ordinations.

Good Friday commemorates Jesus’s passion, crucifixion and death. On that day, fasting is obligatory for believers.

In continental Croatia, beans, dried fruit, compotes, cheese strudels and dough with walnuts and poppy seeds are most often eaten, along with freshwater fish such as carp and pike.

In coastal Croatia, including Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, locals break their fast with a variety of seafood and saltwater fish, accompanied by extra virgin olive oil. Along with numerous delicacies of the Mediterranean diet, the special one is Soparnik.

“Once upon a time, it was the food of the poor, but today it is widely produced and consumed,” said Josip Roguljić, from Kučina, a small town on the southern slopes of Mount Mosor.

Kučine is a suburb of Solin, about ten kilometers from Split, the largest city in Dalmatia and the second-largest city in Croatia.

“The production of Soparnik is a family tradition,” Roguljić said. He is the youngest member of OPG Roguljić, a family business consisting of his mother, Mirjana, father, Marin and older brother, Ivan, along with him and his wife, Antea.

They continue the tradition of their ancestors, growing 500 olive trees and tending 180 beehives in Kučine and on the island of Šolta.

They produce cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, honey and other bee products. At the foot of Mount Mosor, they have a corral with 30 heads of cattle, cows and calves. The autochthonous varieties of figs Poljarica, Bilica and Mletkinje grow in the Kučina field with seasonal vegetables.

“Agriculture is an open-air factory,” Roguljić said. “That’s why we deal with several activities. You never know when one will fail. If the olives do not bear fruit for one year, we have bee products and vice versa. Of course, it’s best when everything works out.”

A formally trained agronomist, Roguljić also prepares Soparnik, a traditional pastry.

“My mother’s and father’s families have been producing Soparnik for time immemorial,” Roguljić said. “The desire to preserve tradition prompted us to continue in the footsteps of our ancestors and save old recipes and methods of production from being forgotten.”

Soparnik, also called Uljenak and Zeljanik, is a traditional dish originating in the hinterland of Split. This simple dish was prepared using ingredients that were available to almost every household: wheat flour, red onion, olive oil and garlic.

The dough is kneaded from wheat flour and rolled out on sinia, round tables. The filling is made with Swiss chard, which is washed, finely chopped and salted to soften it. Thinly sliced red onion is added, then the moisture is squeezed out by hand so it is not too wet. Olive oil is added last.

The filling is spread over one stretched crust and covered with the other. The dough is stretched using a wooden roller. The pie is baked on the stove and covered with embers. When the pastry is ready, it is coated with oil and garlic.

In the past, Soparnik was prepared only on fasting days. However, since its inclusion on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, it has become indispensable at every Dalmatian festival.

Although some food producers started mass-producing the pastry, the Roguljić family still follows the traditional recipe and production method.

“The essence of a good Soparnik is in high-quality, naturally grown chard, extra virgin olive oil,” he said.

The most common preparation method is Poljica, which is savory. However, there are also two sweet versions of the dish called Kučinski and Žrnovački. The preparation method is the same until the final stage, when ground walnuts and raisins are added with olive oil. Unlike Žrnovački, it is sweetened with sugar and chopped almonds or walnuts.

“We received a record number of orders, and they continue to arrive,” Ivan Roguljić said. Freshly baked Soparnika, olive oil, honey and bee products are delivered to the home addresses of well-known customers, and their numbers are increasing.

The traditional Easter table in Croatia does not tolerate many experiments: pinca, kuglof, boiled ham, horseradish, spring onions and boiled eggs are typically served for breakfast.

For lunch, a roast is usually prepared: veal and potatoes, less often poultry, pork or steaks, and most often young roasted lamb, with spring onions and new potatoes.

The recently appointed United States ambassador to Croatia, Nathalie Rayes, also could not resist the traditional meal during a recent visit to Slunj, near the Plitvice Lakes in Lika. She ordered this traditional delicacy in a well-known restaurant, which was served with the indispensable spring onion.

“A lot of you suggested that I try the lamb. And I did, here in Slunj, and it was absolutely delicious. No wonder it’s so popular,” she wrote on social media platform X with a video of her sampling the lamb for the first time.

According to recent research, most Croatians intend to spend €50 to €70 on Easter lunch preparation, 20 percent less than last year. However, olive oil, Soparnik, and lamb are not among the ingredients they plan to cut back on.