Olive oil fraud is real, it is old, and most of it is mundane rather than sinister: the commonest trick is not poison but paperwork. A bottle labelled "extra virgin" may have been cut with cheaper refined oil, blended with oil from a different country than the flag on the front suggests, or simply be a lower grade that has…
Read the story →Indoor olive tree care comes down to strong light, a cool winter rest and careful watering. How to keep one thriving inside, and why…
September 22, 2026A true Kalamata is a specific Greek cultivar, almond-shaped, deep purple-black, split by hand or knife and cured in brine, often finished with red wine vinegar. It carries a Protected…
September 15, 2026Most olive allergies are to the pollen, not the fruit or oil. Symptoms of all 3, whether you can still eat olives, and which tests to ask a doctor about.
September 11, 2026Straight off the tree, an olive is inedible — bitter enough to make you wince. Curing is how we fix that, and you can do it at home…
Kalamata are ripened and brine-cured. Tinned black olives are picked green and oxidised. Why one tastes of wine and the other of almost nothing.
An olive that is delicious from the jar can wreck a dish, because heat does three things to it: it drives out salt, it softens the flesh, and…
In a village in Crete stands an olive tree up to 4,000 years old — still making olives. A timeline of everything it has outlived, and the one…
Does olive oil really help you live longer? Untangling the honest science of the Mediterranean diet from the 'juice of…
Planting an olive grove is an act of patience and faith. Here is what it actually takes to turn bare…
Lab studies keep finding intriguing compounds in olive oil — pinoresinol, oleocanthal, polyphenols. Here is a calm, de-hyped look at…
Chargrilled polenta with sweet roasted peppers and good olives — a simple, sunny Mediterranean plate that lives or dies on…
Il existe tout un commerce d'oliviers adultes déterrés et déplacés — un rappel qu'un vieil olivier n'est pas qu'une culture…
Everything a beginner needs to buy, store and use olive oil well — the grades decoded, the labels demystified, the…
Its beauty, its origins, its history: the varieties, the fields, the pictures.
“What does lavender have to do with olives? Well, I’m glad you asked. I just love both, and to me they’re the perfect match.”
