A fly infestation, too high temperatures in winter and too much rain in summer. Here you have the main causes of the low olive production. This year Evoo (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) production is down by 45%.

As in all markets, the higher the demand, the higher the price.  So, the price of good Evoo is going up. Also we have to take something else into account… fraude. On the market we will probably find Extra Vergine Olive Oil that is a blend.

In principle blends might be good but how to recognise a good one?

Here some basic rules:

1. Read the label to check the source of the olives. Since this month the producers have to indicate where the olives come from. The best would be an Evoo produced from olives coming from Spain, Tunisia or Italy of course.

2. The price is always an indicator: it is simply impossible that a high quality olive oil costs less than a seed oil! Like a good bottle on wine, cheep Evoo should make you doubt.

3. Check the expiring date and do some simple math: a good Evoo keeps its quality for about 18 months (if kept under the right storage conditions). On the label look at the expiring date. So take that date minus 18 and you will have the date on which the Evoo has been bottled (attention: I say bottled, not produced!). Evoo is produced in October/November If it happens that your calculation brings you in the months between January and August, that means that the bottle in your hands contains a product that is at least 2 years old! It might be still good, but it definitely lost all the perfumes and polyphenols that make a good Evoo.

Hope you will find those tips useful the next time you are olive oil shopping.