The Americas have their own olive — and Argentina is where it grows.
Olive growing reached Argentina with the Spanish centuries ago and took deep root in the Andean north-west, above all in La Rioja, Catamarca and Mendoza. Its pride is the Arauco (or Criolla), a large elongated olive that adapted into something distinctly Argentine — a cracked green table olive and a bold, peppery oil.
Like Peru and Chile, Argentina harvests in the Southern Hemisphere autumn — our spring — so its fresh oil can be the youngest on a Northern shelf out of season. The Argentine olives we’ve covered so far are below.