Find out the differences between commercial and artisan olive oil.

Why is it essential to buy olive oil from the farmers who produce it instead of large corporations?

Those of us that enjoy the healthy and delicious olive oil and cook with it every day have difficulties finding good quality in large supermarkets. There is a reason for this. Large supermarkets buy olive oil as cheap as possible from the mills and cooperatives and market it themselves. They are not aware of what is going on in the grove, all the costly processes that lead to a supreme taste, or they are not willing to pay for it. Meanwhile farmers out there are struggling; which leads them to cutting down on costs, aiming at large yields and not quality.

We should let this out of our chest — big olive oil brands don’t have the calling. The good news? We can all make a difference. How? Getting authentic olive oil from the people that craft it in their own homes with their hands — with their heart.

Here’s all you need to know about the difference between commercial olive oil and the real deal.

What Large Olive Oil Companies Don’t Know About Making Olive Oil.

Contrary to common belief, large olive oil brands don’t own olive groves or produce olive oil; they purchase it as cheap as possible and market it. Of course, that means that they have less control over the oil’s quality.

Those lucky or unlucky farmers that struck deals with the large companies and are not very motivated to do their best. After all, cutting corners here and there is the only way to make a profit in these tight international trades.

Even the most respected multinational olive oil brands don’t know what chemicals were used in the olive groves, when or how the olives were harvested and pressed. Sizeable olive oil companies don’t even know who the their farmers are!

Buying bulk olive oil and bottling it in a nice bottle with a fancy label — there’s your supermarket premium olive oil. Well, if you think that’s not fair to the farmers, now you know it’s not fair to you either!

Here’s what you need to know about real premium olive oil and why you’ll never get it at your local convenience store.

The Difference Between Commercial and Artisan Olive Oil

Family-owned olive oil producers exist, a rare breed surviving under the shadow of international olive oil corporations. The good news? Some of them love what they do. Most importantly, they know how to create premium quality olive oil, as they’ve been doing so for generations. Here's an article about the factors of quality that lead to a premium taste and healthy. Just to name a few:

1. Great Land

Excellent terroir is a rare find; you can only make premium olive oil in the right conditions, including a proper temperature, altitude, humidity, rain and sunshine. You can’t just get premium olive oil from anywhere.

Boring terroir leads to boring taste. Intensive farming exhausts the soil.

2. The right olive varieties

There are dozens of olive oil varieties, and although they’re all beautiful in a way, not all of them produce premium olive oil. In fact, farmers know which types are best suited for the table and which are best for oil. Growing the proper varietals matter.

3. Meticulous work

Believe it or not, there’s always something to do in the olive groves. Tending the fields like gardens, protecting the trees from pests and natural enemies is no easy feat. Fruit flies can obliterate the year’s harvest if the farmers are not on top of their game. There’s a lot of effort, know-how and expertise in growing olives, even more so when destined to become some of the finest olive oil in the world.

4. The right harvest date

Harvesting olives early, between October and November in the Northern Hemisphere is the best way to guarantee high phenolic levels, complex aromas and mouthfeel. This decision comes at a cost — the yields are lower, so there’s less olive oil to go around. The good news? This olive oil is much better in health and flavour than regular late-harvested olive oil.

5. The quality of the olives

Discarding damaged olives, those affected by insects, frostbite or bruising is expensive, and only quality-minded producers make such a sacrifice. Only the finest olives, in the best shape, should make it to the mill.

6. State-of-the-art mills

Growing fantastic olives is one thing. Turning them into olive oil without damaging the fruit’s health properties and flavour is another. Transporting the olives fast and efficiently to the mill and cold pressing the olives without compromising the quality is as essential as the fruit quality.

Producers must pick the olives quickly, using clean baskets and bags, and preventing any bruising and oxidation. The farmers only have a few hours to pick and press the olives, and that’s a lot of pressure. Lazy farmers might let the olives sit for days before pressing!

7. Top storage conditions

Premium oil is ready; now what? Storing olive oil at the right temperature under the best conditions is paramount to guarantee that it remains in top shape until it arrives at the customer’s hands. It comes without saying, large commercial olive oil

In a nutshell

Concisely, producing quality olive oil is not dissimilar to making wine. The growers must have the know-how, skills, equipment and patience to craft such prestigious agricultural product. Failing to do so results in faulty and flawed olive oil, and these are mistakes you can taste .

Case Scenario: The Olive Oil Market Today

Dimitri has an olive grove of excellent terroir. He and his family maintain the strictest standards from tree to the mill to guarantee top quality olive oil. Dimitri’s neighbour, Alec, pays no attention to the intricacies of making premium olive oil, of course, because it involves effort and money. Dimitri cares about the olives’ quality; Alec just wants to produce as many olives as possible.

If both Dimitri and Alec take their olives to the local cooperative, they will be paid the same for their fruit. In this case, Alec has a better payday — he produced more olives than Dimitri. What about the olive oil? Both Dimitri’s premium olives and the poor-quality fruit from Alec’s grove end in the same vat. Who’s going to buy this dubious olive oil? An international corporation, of course — that’s the olive oil you’ll find in the supermarket aisles.

In the scenario above, Alec, the cooperative and the international corporations had a good day, but Dimitri’s work was in vain. The biggest loser, though, is the consumer.

The only thing Dimitri can do is sell his oil to the consumers himself!

The demand for cheap oil squeezes the profits down for small, quality-minded producers. The only thing producers can do is stop selling their oil to the cooperative and sell it themselves. After all, their product is of higher quality than anything you’ll find in the market. Of course, it’s not easy to compete against the big players dominating the oil trade.

How can the consumers help the small olive oil producers? By buying olive oil straight from the farmers or retailers who have direct contact with farmers, consumers get a much better product, which means a tastier and healthier oil and the farmers get a better share of the sale. Luckily, a few farmers have found the opportunity to sell such a rich oil in retail companies, quality-minded stores and on-line, so finding proper olive oil is not that hard.

Adding extra virgin olive oil to your diet is a great idea. But only by sourcing it straight from the farmers will you be helping the small producers and yourself. High-quality, ethically sourced olive oil is of top quality, and it’s easy to find if you know where to look. You might want to think twice before purchasing your next bottle of olive oil!