Why Greek Olive Oil Is THE BEST In the World?

Olive oil, or the “Golden Liquid” as Homer called it, has been part of Greek history since antiquity. It was regarded as a basic and irreplaceable nutritional component of the Greek diet, helping to protect one’s health and adding to one’s longevity.

Since the first olive tree was planted in Greece, believed to have been on Crete around 3500 BC in the Early Minoan times, olive oil has became synonymous with the Greek nutrition throughout the centuries.

Today, it is regarded as the best in the world, because extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) comprises at least 80%, and sometimes in Crete even it makes up almost 90%, of overall olive oil production.

“Greek EVOO’s have very low acidity and peroxides, which make them of premium quality,” says Nicholas Basoukos, managing partner of Greek Heritage Foods.

The high quality can be recognized mainly from the fruitiness, the bitterness and the pungency of the oil as well as its aromas, which show the freshness and health of the olives. All these extraordinary characteristics are the result of proper planting, maintenance and meticulous care in all the stages of olive production and harvesting.

Basoukos says that about 70% of all the labelled EVOO’s sold in United States supermarkets are either adulterated or defective.

Oil is considered adulterated  when it is mixed with oils of inferior quality, such as canola, sunflower, soy, and corn, he explains.

“Defective is when the olive oil has very bad organoleptic characteristics (which include aroma and taste).”

Germanaki, who has been working on the qualitative attributes of olive oil for over thirty years, says that “the Greek land is truly blessed. Τhe luminous sun and crystal clear sea, the mountains and the wind all play vital roles that bring out all the high quality organoleptic characteristics of our οlive oils.”

The Best EVOO In The World