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a bottle of Terra Creta Grand Cru extra virgin olive oil between a plate of delicacies and the EVOOWR Top 10 badge

For the first time, a Greek extra virgin olive oil was ranked in the Top Ten worldwide by the EVOO World Ranking (WR). Terra Creta’s Grand Cru earned the first of Greece’s 24 spots on the 2020 list of the Top 100 EVOOs of the World. Excelling with Koroneiki and flavored olive oils, Greece more than doubled its awards and EVOOs of the Year compared to 2019.

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A closeup of Dino Pierrakos (face only) wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, next to an olive tree

In 2009, two brothers from the village of Skala in Laconia, Greece decided they should not sell the olive groves that had been in their family for four generations. Instead, they embarked on a challenging venture that takes them back and forth across the ocean, from the land in Greece that gives them their olive oil to their current base in the US.

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Bottles and tins of olive oil on store shelves

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.

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a branch with young olives growing on a tree, with blue sky behind them

The only wide-ranging English-language website devoted to Greek olive oil news is again providing up-to-date information about the Greek olive oil world. With 225 original articles, the Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil website (greekliquidgold.com) has reached consumers in more than 200 countries, especially attracting readers in the USA. 

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a man reaching up with a long harvester to harvest olives from a tall tree

For much of the Greek olive oil sector in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic provoked the perseverance required to meet challenges and achieve success. With great dedication, many Greek olive oil producers turned a year of illness, lockdowns, and grief into a time for honoring olive oil’s health benefits and flavors and emphasizing its key role in a healthy diet.  

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Photos and logos related to the participants in part 1 of the MICOIL study on olive oil and Alzheimer's

The first study to use human volunteers to test the ability of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease has yielded exciting results. It shows that a long-term diet rich in EVOO containing a medium to large amount of natural phenolic compounds can help protect against Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

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a closeup photo of Pamako founder Eftychis Androulakis

For the first time, says Pamako’s Eftychis Androulakis, an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has been officially approved as a food supplement. While EVOO is also a healthy natural food, this early harvest Greek olive oil is so rich in antioxidants, and is produced, stored, and bottled with such care, that it can be prescribed by Belgian and Luxembourg doctors.

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Boiled greens with olive oil and lemon on a white plate

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.

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oranges hanging from trees like Christmas decorations

I've always enjoyed dessert, especially my mother’s holiday creations. But when I learned I was following my mother into pre-diabetes, I decided it was time for a change. If you’ve resolved to eat more healthy food and less added sugar in the New Year, consider my method: stop the sugar, increase the tasty healthy foods, allow yourself bits of sweet treats.

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Whole baked fish on plate with olive oil at a restaurant, sea and old buildings in the background

When he led the famous Seven Countries Study that inspired worldwide interest in the Mediterranean diet, Ancel Keys was astonished to see Cretans’ food swimming in olive oil. He decided that was a good idea, and eventually much of the rest of the world caught on, although most countries still lag behind Greece in their olive oil consumption. 

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olive oils and other products on the shelves of a specialty store in Athens, with a small table for sampling products in front of the shelves

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.

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two young children having a picnic outdoors, with one of them holding a bottle of Goutis Estate olive oil

Concerned about staying healthy, we value nutritious food more than ever. We especially value food that combines superb flavor with health benefits, as extra virgin olive oil does. So Greek Liquid Gold is spotlighting several of this year’s top award-winning Greek olive oil companies, starting with a few of the world’s best extra virgin olive oils.

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Small bowls of olive oil and olives

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.

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two whole fish on a plate of olive oil, with the sea in the background

We know we should eat nutritious foods to stay well, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Many also realize extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) offers numerous health benefits, so it can play a vital role in a healthy diet. While no food has been proven to prevent or treat COVID-19, some evidence suggests EVOO could help us combat the novel coronavirus.

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2 vials of Eureka olive oil next to a gold box

In a unique Greek-American collaboration, the World Olive Center for Health is working with the UC Davis Olive Center to raise money for olive oil research by selling extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) called Eureka. Packaged in a box that looks like a bar of gold, Eureka contains two vials of high phenolic “liquid gold”—that is, especially healthy EVOO.

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Antonia Trichopolou speaking at the Food Expo in Athens

A world-famous expert on the Mediterranean diet, Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, spoke to a Greek audience about “Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Secrets We All Know” at the Food Expo in Athens this spring. “We all know olive oil,” she said; “it’s in our DNA. Olive oil is not only health … it is culture, it is tradition, it is the economy, it is the environment.”

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purple olives on a tree with a blue and sky with some clouds behind them

Representatives of the top nine olive oil producing and consuming countries discussed their forecast for the 2020/21 olive growing season during an online conference that was organized and moderated by strategic analyst Juan Vilar of Spain. They analyzed various estimates for olive oil production, consumption, inventories, prices, and international trade.

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A couple harvesting olives on a steep hillside

Harvest time, method, and duration vary according to a number of factors, but harvesting tends to be labor intensive in Greece due to the country’s rocky, hilly, and mountainous terrain. Since ripening time varies according to the olive variety and location (including elevation), the harvest does not occur at the same time in all parts of Greece.

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Diamantis Pierrakos in front of a crate of harvested olives

Although the Greek government has declared a second COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Greece’s olive harvest and olive oil production are continuing. Some seasonal labor shortages and mobility issues may cause minor delays, but several olive oil professionals remain optimistic that bottled Greek extra virgin olive oil will reach global consumers in good time.

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Bottles of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farming olive oils lined up in a row

Cooking at home? Looking for easy-to-use, healthy natural flavors? Based on the healthiest oil for cooking and finishing, flavored olive oils offer cooks a wide range of intriguing options. This inspired Greek Liquid Gold to highlight several of the Greek flavored olive oil condiments that won top awards at international olive oil competitions this year.

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a bottle of Hypereleon extra virgin olive oil, with olive olive oil from it being poured into a spoon

Are you looking for food that is both tasty and nutritious? Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the perfect choice. With scientists finding more evidence for EVOO’s health benefits all the time, international olive oil competitions have begun to present awards for healthy elements as well as flavor. In 2020, Greek EVOOs earned many awards in both categories.

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Olive trees behind the amphitheater at Ancient Aptera in Crete

Archaeologist Anaya Sarpaki explains in On the Olive Routes that olive trees have existed longer than modern humans. For example, wild olive leaf fossils from the Greek island of Evia date back 23 million years. At Santorini, 37,000 to 50,000 year old leaf fossils from the olive species Olea europaea have been discovered in the volcanic crater.

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Washing olives at a mechanized olive mill in Astrikas village, Crete

Olives enter the olive receiving area on conveyor belts for separation from leaves and branches and then enter the mill. They may be washed either outside or inside the mill. In both traditional and modern mills, olives are ground or crushed into a paste which is pressed or churned to release oil that must then be separated from other liquids and solids.

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a large glass bowl of spanakorizo next to a small bouquet of anemones

You can make this vegan recipe using more or less of various ingredients, including spinach, depending on your preference. You can even use the spinach stems left over after you’ve made something else with the spinach leaves. I prefer to make the dish healthier using wholegrain brown rice, but that must be cooked separately given its longer cooking time.

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fresh olive oil pouring out of a stainless steel pipe in an olive mill

This year’s olive crop in Greece is not expected to yield an immense quantity of olive oil, but producers in different parts of the country report that they made very high quality early harvest extra virgin olive oil. Others who start their harvest later also predict very good quality. Any labor shortages due to the pandemic seem to be surmountable.

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bottles of Greek olive oil on shelves in a shop

All certified companies that produce, bottle, and/or export bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil are welcome to take advantage of all the advertising and sponsorship options on www.greekliquidgold.com. Other relevant businesses and organizations are invited to become sponsors or major supporters, purchase banner ads, and take advantage of writing and editing services.

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