Introduction

The olive is a Mediterranean tree and over the years its oil has become an essential part of the culinary life of the region. No Italian, Spanish or Greek cook would be without a good supply in the kitchen or on the table. Today many cooks in other regions have also discovered the virtues of olive oil and it is appearing as an ingredient in an amazing range of dishes from couscous to carrot cake.

Olive oil is quite simply the juice of the olive fruit with the water removed. People have been harvesting olives and mechanically pressing them to produce oil for longer than recorded history. In the early days, olive oil was used for lighting and for anointing kings as well as for food. It was also considered to be very healthy and modern research has confirmed this view.

Spain is the largest producer in the world. Its seemingly endless olive groves account for nearly half the world's production. Greece and Italy vie with each other for second place. Next come Turkey, Syria and Tunisia, followed by the rest of North Africa, Portugal and France. Olive oil is now also produced in the southern hemisphere, particularly in Argentina and in Australia.