olives101OLIVE NEWS & INFORMATION

Every olive on earth, and the oil it becomes.

An encyclopedia, true stories the sellers won’t tell you, and notes in two languages. From someone who spent twenty years in the trade and has nothing left to sell.

The centerpiece

The oldest olive tree in the world

In a village in Crete stands an olive tree perhaps 4,000 years old — still making olives. A timeline of everything it has outlived… and the one thing that might finally get it.

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Latest articles · les dernières

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EN

The Best Olives for Pizza: Which Varieties Actually Work

Mild California black olives keep the peace on a family pizza; pitted Kalamata or firm Castelvetrano bring real depth. Here's how to match the olive to…

EN

Can Cats Eat Olives? Safety, Sodium & Why They Go Mad for Them

A small nibble of plain olive won't hurt most cats, but salt, pits and marinades are where the real risks hide — and there's a real…

EN

Are Olives Vegan? The Simple Answer (and the Rare Exceptions)

Yes, olives are always vegan on their own — it's the stuffing, marinade or rare dye that can occasionally change the answer. Here's exactly what to…

EN

The Classic New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwich

How to build the real New Orleans muffuletta — the round loaf, the Italian cold cuts, the provolone, and the flood of olive salad that makes…

EN

Muffuletta Olive Salad: The Briny Heart of New Orleans

The olive salad is the soul of the muffuletta. The New Orleans story, where to find the best, and the make-ahead recipe — with the olives…

EN

An Early Warning: Spain Sells Down Fast as the Bloom Falters

Why a spring bloom in Spain tells you more about next year's olive oil price than any harvest report — and how to read the early…

EN

“Bottled in Italy” Doesn’t Mean What You Think

The three most valuable words on a bottle describe where the glass was filled, not where the olives grew. Here is how to read past the…

EN

Why Olive Oil Prices Spiked

Olive oil hit record prices in the mid-2020s, and the cause was old-fashioned: drought and heat in the Mediterranean. The fuller story reveals where the world's…

EN

In Focus: The Picholine Olive

Ask for a Picholine in three shops and you can get three different olives. Here is the real one — the slim green olive of the…

EN

Year’s End 2025: Cheap Oil and Hard Questions

As 2025 closed, cupboards were full and prices low — but cheap imports and below-cost farming had the whole trade asking what a fair olive-oil market…

EN

How South Africa Makes Its Oil

South Africa makes oil the way it makes its best wine: small batches, quality-obsessed estates, an eye on the medal table. Here is how a Cape…

EN

In Focus: The Arbequina Olive

Catalonia's small Arbequina gives the mild, buttery oil that won over modern palates — and became the world's most-planted hedgerow variety.

The exposés · what the sellers don’t tell you

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The encyclopedia · one page per olive

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❀ The lavender room

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.”

Step into the lavender room →