Olive oil is the great star of the Mediterranean diet. Many recipes in Spanish cuisine, such as Spanish omelette, cannot be made without it. We tell you some curious facts and secrets about this product that many people call liquid gold.

Origin

It appears that humans have consumed olive oil since the beginning of the first civilizations. We know this because there are multiple references to it in the Bible and in the writings of the Sumerians. Perhaps the most famous mention is the olive leaf that the dove brought to Noah after the Flood.

Production

Five kilos of olives are needed to produce a liter of extra virgin olive oil. The attribute "virgin" indicates that the extraction process is carried out exclusively using mechanical methods, without using solvents.

Production

With a total area of more than 2.3 million hectares, Spain is the country with the largest production of olive oil in the world. In this area, 266 varieties of olive of the 2,000 present worldwide are grown.

Consumption

However, interestingly, the country where the most olive oil is consumed per year is not Spain but Greece, with 18 liters per person. In Spain, on the other hand, 12 liters are consumed per person per year.

Tasting

Have you noticed how professional olive oil tasters use a blue glass instead of a transparent one? They do so to ensure they are not influenced by its color, since it has no bearing whatsoever on its quality as this depends on other factors such as the raw material, the level of ripeness and the extraction process.

Pairing

As with wines, depending on the variety of olive oil it will pair better with one dish or another. Those which are a bit fruity pair better with white fish, chicken and vegetables, while the more intense ones are recommended for oily fish and meat.