Olive oil
A staple oil from Mediterranean olives, used for millennia.
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives, the fruit of Olea europaea, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a condiment, or as a salad dressing, and also appears in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and fuels for traditional oil lamps. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine, alongside wheat and grapes, and olive trees have been cultivated around the Mediterranean since the 4th millennium BC.
- type
- Vegetable oil
- primary_use
- Cooking, condiment, salad dressing
- other_uses
- Cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, lamp fuel, religious rituals
- top_producer_2022
- Spain (39-40% of world total)
- other_major_producers
- Italy, Greece, Turkey (combined share significantly lower than 59%)
- key_component
- Oleic acid (up to 83%)
- earliest_cultivation
- 4th millennium BC
Lore & Background
Olive oil has long been a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, including ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. Wild olives, originating in Asia Minor, were collected by Neolithic people as early as the 4th millennium BC. Besides food, olive oil has been used for religious rituals, medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps, soap-making, and skincare. The Spartans and other Greeks used oil to rub themselves while exercising in gymnasia, and its cosmetic use spread to all Hellenic city-states by the early 7th century BC, lasting nearly a thousand years despite great expense.
Reader's Guide
It is one of three core food plants of the region, alongside wheat and grapes, and has been used not only for cooking but also in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, lamp fuel, and religious rituals. The oil's composition varies with cultivar, altitude, harvest time, and extraction process, consisting mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%). Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and is prized for its flavor. The olive tree has historically been a symbol of peace, and its cultivation spread from the Eastern Mediterranean through Phoenician, Greek, and Roman influence, eventually reaching the Americas in the 16th century. The exact domestication history remains uncertain, with genetic studies suggesting descent from multiple wild populations.
Did You Know?
- Olive trees have been cultivated around the Mediterranean since the 4th millennium BC.
- Extra virgin olive oil must have no more than 0.8% free acidity.
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