The botany
Olive Genus and Classification: Olea europaea, Family Oleaceae
The olive genus is Olea; the olive we eat is Olea europaea, in the Oleaceae family with ash and lilac. Plus fruits called olives that are not olives.
Read the story →Saturday 10 October 2026Since 2004 · in English and French · 25 years in the olive trade
Every type of olive, and the oil it becomes.
Olive Oil Shots: What a Daily Spoonful Really Does
Olive oil shots are trending, but a spoonful with food does the same job. What one tablespoon contains, what the studies found, and the…
October 10, 2026Olive Tree Fertilizer: What to Feed, When and How Much
The best olive tree fertilizer is mostly nitrogen, given in spring and in modest amounts. What the groves use, and the signs you have overdone it.
October 7, 2026Olive Oil and Lemon Juice: Real Uses vs the Cleanse Myth
Olive oil and lemon juice make a great dressing but not a liver cleanse. What the morning shot really does, the gallstone flush risk, and the calories.
October 4, 2026Guides
How to Cure Your Own Olives (Without Lye)
Straight 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…
- How to Taste Olive Oil
- How Long Do Olives Last? Storage and Shelf Life
- Olive Oil Grades Explained
- Olive Tree Care: Watering, Pruning and Feeding
Comparisons
Kalamata vs Black Olives: What’s the Difference?
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.
- Extra Virgin vs Virgin Olive Oil: The Difference Is a Number
- Early-Harvest vs Late-Harvest Oil
- Black Olives vs Green Olives: What’s the Difference?
- Olive Harvesting: Hand vs Machine
Kitchen
Cooking With Olives: A Practical Guide
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…
- Cheese and Olive Pairing Guide
- Chicken Marbella: The Olive and Prune Dish That Refuses to Date
- The Gilda: Three Ingredients on a Stick, and the Best Olive Snack in Spain
- The Best Olives for Pizza: Which Varieties Actually Work
Stories
The Oldest Olive Tree in the World: ~4,000 Years in Crete
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…
- The True Cost of an Olive: Where Your Money Actually Goes
- How Olive Oil Gets Cut: Blending, Refining & Fraud
- Olive Oil Fraud, Explained
- The Most Expensive Olives in the World, and What You Are Actually Paying For
Types of olives, A to Z 87
- Adramytini
- Aglandau
- Alfonso (Botija)
- Aloreña de Málaga
- Arauco
- Arbequina
- Arbosana
- Ascolana Tenera
- Athinolia
- Ayvalık
- Biancolilla
- Blanqueta
- Bosana
- Bouteillan
- Buža
- Carolea
- Casaliva
- Castelvetrano
- Cellina di Nardò
- Cerasuola
- Cerignola
- Changlot Real
- Chemlal de Kabylie
- Chemlali
- Chetoui
- Cobrançosa
- Coquillo
- Coratina
- Cornicabra
- Domat
- Dritta
- Empeltre
- Farga
- Frantoio
- Gaeta
- Galega
- Gemlik
- Gordal
- Grossane
- Halkidiki
- Hojiblanca
- Istrska Belica
- Itrana
- Kalamata
- Kalinjot
- Kolovi
- Konservolia (Amfissa)
- Koroneiki
- Leccino
- Lechín de Sevilla
- Lucques
- Madural
- Manzanilla Cacereña
- Manzanilla
- Maurino
- Megaritiki
- Memecik
- Mission
- Moraiolo
- Morisca
- Niçoise (Cailletier)
- Nocellara del Belice
- Nocellara Etnea
- Nostrana di Brisighella
- Nyons (Tanche)
- Oblica
- Ogliarola Barese
- Pendolino
- Peranzana
- Picholine Marocaine (Beldi)
- Picholine
- Picual
- Picudo
- Rosciola
- Royal de Cazorla
- Salonenque
- Sevillano
- Taggiasca
- Tanche
- Throuba Thassos
- Toffahi
- Tonda Iblea
- Tsounati
- Verdeal Transmontana
- Verdial
- Villalonga
- Žutica
From the archive
Olive Oil and Heart Health: The Honest Version
Olive oil is the most studied fat in the human diet, and the heart-health headline holds up — but the…
Spanish Olive Oil Expert Partners with Top Los Angeles Chef for an Exclusive Tasting
You don't need a chef's tasting to learn to taste olive oil like an expert. Here is how the professionals…
Dirty Jobs – Olive Oil Presser
Turning olives into oil is wet, heavy, sticky, relentless work against the clock. Behind the elegant bottle is a dirty…
Spicy beef, olive & caramelised onion pie
How to cook olives into a rich, spiced beef braise — the pie that started as a family favourite, rebuilt…
Olive harvest season in Spain
When and how Spain brings in the world's biggest olive crop — table olives first in early autumn, oil olives…
New test to detect color adulteration of green olives
Some green table olives are quietly dyed a permanent, unnatural green with a banned copper colorant. Here is how the…