Now in its 13th year and expecting over 700 samples, Olive Japan International Olive Oil Competition (OJ) is the biggest olive oil contest in Asia and Oceania. With great respect for the contest and the way OJ helps companies connect with Asian consumers and buyers, OJ judges praise its organization, fairness, and promotional efforts for olive oil in Japan.
In 2023, Greece claimed over 5 times as many “EVOO of the Year” distinctions in the EVOO World Ranking as in 2017: 66 in 2023, up from 13. This increase supports experts’ claims that growing numbers of Greek olive oil producers and companies are engaging in the hard work, best practices, and painstaking care required to produce excellent olive oil.
This is the revised edition of a list that should grow very long but still has a great deal of room to grow—and additions are welcome. It focuses on where to buy bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs), since these are high quality, healthy olive oils that have their flavor sealed into bottles where oxygen cannot harm its quality.
Countless headlines proclaim the high price of olive oil. Climate change-induced heatwaves, droughts, floods, and fires have drastically reduced global olive oil production levels. Coupled with high prices for energy and labor, this has driven prices to record highs. So is olive oil worth what it costs? Yes: its flavor and health benefits make it priceless.
For a decade, Laconiko extra virgin olive oils from Greece have been winning annual awards at the prestigious NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, the world’s largest olive oil contest. Its ten years of awards make Laconiko the most consistently awarded Greek olive oil at this competition. The company is also a top winner at contests around the world.
Concerned that the World Health Organization’s latest guidelines defining “healthy diets” calls for a limitation of total fat intake to a level below that in the traditional Mediterranean diet, prominent scientists have signed a statement requesting that the recommended level be increased, and a distinction be made between fats and oils, and among oils.
With the Mediterranean diet ranked the “Best Diet Overall” by U.S. News & World Report for the 7th year in a row in 2024, it is a model for healthy eating. In fact, it is even more. It goes beyond food to include various aspects of the traditional Mediterranean way of life. Resembling other traditional, healthy lifestyles, it is easy for many to embrace.
Katerina Mountanos grew up flying back and forth between the USA and Greece. In her grandparents’ small Greek village, the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle absorbed her. As a mother cooking in her American kitchen, she missed the fresh, healthy, authentic flavors of Greece. So she created Kosterina, a company that brings the goodness of Greece to Americans.
Is olive oil expensive now? It depends on how you look at it. If you compare prices to a year or two ago, yes. If you consider the price per serving, the cost compared to other purchases, and extra virgin olive oil’s contributions to your food’s flavor and health benefits, no: we are not paying as much as this cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet is worth.
At the Cretan Lifestyle Conference in Rethymno, Crete in November, Dr. Magda Tsolaki shared several types of evidence from a clinical trial to support her claim that extra virgin olive oil is “more promising than any drug being studied or any drug which already has been approved” for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as being safe and ready to use.
Olive oil is good for us--so good that it is considered both a healthy food and a delicious medicine! There are so many articles about the scientific evidence for the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil that it’s hard to keep track of them. Here is an overview, followed by links to the best, clearest, most useful recent articles I’ve read.
How should I use olive oil? Greeks don’t need to ask, since they consume more of this liquid gold per capita than anyone else in the world. To help those outside the major olive growing regions, Greek Liquid Gold asked Greek olive oil producers and company representatives, plus two prominent European chefs, about their favorite ways to eat olive oil.
Greek Liquid Gold asked Greek olive oil experts about the best ways to select and preserve extra virgin olive oil to retain its optimal flavor and maximum health benefits. They shared useful advice about where to buy olive oil, what to look for as you shop, where to keep your olive oil at home, and how long its excellent flavor and health benefits can last.
The Greek name for this recipe translates awkwardly as “oily peas,” emphasizing the substantial amount of olive oil in it. Extra virgin olive oil is crucial to this common, quick and easy Greek dish, making it tasty, filling, and healthy. It can also be made with green beans, but my family and I prefer the sweetness of the peas with onion and carrots.
Olive oil has been a fundamental product in Greece since ancient times. This liquid gold (as Homer called it) has remained central to Greek cuisine, culture, economy, and history for millennia. Today, home cooks, chefs, foodies, and olive oil judges across the globe value Greek olive oil for both its exquisite flavor and its significant health benefits.
Businesses and organizations that work with bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil and/or related Greek products or services are invited to consider advertising and sponsorship options on greekliquidgold.com, as explained fully in the article. A range of choices is offered to fit any budget on a site read by consumers in 222 countries.