Olive Oils

Olives are one of the oldest cultivated crops on Earth. People have been eating olives—and, perhaps more importantly, pressing them to make oil for more than 6,000 years. Today, there are more than 1,000 varieties of olive in the world, and they grow on every continent except Antarctica.

In Italy, olive oil is a foundational part of the cuisine—it’s often referred to as a keystone of the “Mediterranean diet,” and is high in beneficial ingredients like antioxidants and polyphenols. For centuries, olive oil was a family affair, not a commercial product. Families would tend a few olive trees on their property and press just enough oil from the fruit to last them until next year’s harvest. Today, of course, olive oil is a major international industry, but the best Italian producers still care for their land and olive trees the way their families have done for generations.

Italian extra virgin olive oil can vary in color from pale straw yellow to dark green, and might have aromas of herbs, nuts, vegetables, or grasses. Some are light and buttery, while others are pleasantly bitter, with a spicy edge. Olive oils can express their terroir in the same way wines do—with a little practice, you’ll be able to taste the difference between a Sicilian and a Ligurian oil.

In general, the farther south in Italy you travel, the more intense the olive oil tends to be. That means that Taggiasca oil from northwestern Liguria is pale and delicate, while dark green Nocellara from Sicily or Coratina and Peranzana from Puglia are bold and spicy, with strong aromas of artichoke, green tomato, and celery. In the middle of the country, Frantoio from Tuscany strikes a balance between the two extremes.

Explore the wide variety of olive oils from Italy here from some of the best artisan producers in the country, each hand-selected by Giada de Laurentiis.