Amigos, we are now well into August…enjoy the rest of summer while you can, because things are about to change! With the fall, we enter the harvest season…in Spain, some of the grapes we use for wine are harvested at the end of this month during a time called vendimia. The hottest regions (like Andalucía and Jerez) harvest first, and then regions like Rioja and Ribera del Duero harvest from September into October. There are even some regions, ones with cooler climates, or at higher altitude, that harvest in late October and early November.
Of course, one of my favorite harvests of the year is the olive harvest! That doesn’t usually begin until October, but it is such an amazing time to be in Spain—the weather is amazing, with days that are still warm enough to spend outside, and cooler nights that make you happy to have a fire.
And OF COURSE, olives and olive oil are a huge part of life in Spain. Did you know that Spain produces 45% of the world’s olive oil? I probably cook with about 10% of that, but it shows how important olive farming and olive oil is in our culture, in our food, and for our farming and economy. When I say I have olive oil running through my veins, it’s not just because I cook with it a lot…it’s deep in our DNA.
Olive oil is one of the most important ingredients in all of Spanish cuisine and in our culture, and it’s been part of our traditions for thousands of years. We have some of the world’s oldest olive trees…whole groves of trees that are more than a thousand years old, and a few that are close to two thousand years. You can see a 1,700-year old tree near the small town of Ulldecona in southern Catalonia, and many other old trees are growing in an area south of Barcelona called the Mar de Olivas, or Sea of Olives. Can you imagine, trees living through all that history, and they still produce fruit? For sure not every tree in Spain is over a thousand years old, but many are hundreds of years old, and when you taste the pure juice that comes from their fruit…wow! You can feel the soil, the rain, the breeze from the sea…it’s almost like a wine.
Let me ask you a question…if olive oil is what you get from pressing olives, does that make it a fruit juice? Just think about it!
The long history of olive oil production in Spain began with the Phoenicians and Greeks, who first planted olive trees around three thousand years ago. But it was the Romans who established olive oil as an important agricultural product—they introduced new ways to produce the oil and developed trade routes that brought Spanish olive oil throughout the Roman Empire (does that make olive oil, not wine, my Roman Empire??).
The Chef's List
The wines of Spain…my Roman Empire
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September 13, 2024
Hola, people of the world! I hope you are thirsty, because today’s Chef’s List is a list of my favorite wines and wine regions of Spain! Of course you know I love wine, and I will take any excuse to enjoy it either with food or without (Cava is definitely the best breakfast wine you could have, and if you haven’t tried it with some tapas in the morning, I think you should). And I know I am biased, but come on—Spain has some of the best wines in the world. We have a long history of producing wine, dating back thousands of years, before even the Phoenicians landed in Cádiz around 1100 BC. So people, fill up your glasses, because I’m about to give you a history lesson.
Olive oil production continued to grow during the Muslim Al-Andalus period, which is where we get our Spanish word for olive, “aceituna” (from the Arabic “zaytun”), and “aceite” (from the Arabic word for oil, “zayt”). From that time period to today, olive oil has been a part of Spanish daily life, used not just for booking but also for medicine, makeup, and more.
Cooking with olive oil
In Spain (and maybe in your home too!), families have a preferred brand for frying and cooking, which might be a blend of olives, and another bottle or two of single-varietal oil for other uses, like vinaigrettes and drizzling on a dish. And you know I am biased, but even so, I think even if I were not from Spain I would still think that Spanish olive oil is the best in the world. Spanish extra virgin olive oil is like liquid gold, so fresh and fruity that we have it as a simple traditional breakfast with bread…that’s it. You know it’s special if you can make it into a simple two-ingredient breakfast, which so many people in Spain do every morning. And of course, cooking your eggs in olive oil is the best way to cook eggs. That’s science, people!
Recipes
What’s your favorite birthday breakfast?
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July 9, 2025
People of the world, what is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? In many parts of the world, breakfast is a really important meal…and in others, you might just have a coffee or tea. It all depends on the time of year, the occasion, where you are, what you have in your kitchen, and how hungry you are…!
We also have access to low-acid olive oil, which makes a great allioli and mayonesa. You might wonder, “hey José…why low acid…??” It’s because most extra-virgin oils have polyphenols, healthy antioxidants that will make recipes like mayonesa taste bitter. In the US, where it is harder to find low acid olive oil, it’s usually better to try a blended oil—like 50% olive oil, 50% sunflower oil…which still has the flavor without all the polyphenols, and also has a higher smoke point, so it’s great combination for frying…though I love frying in pure olive oil! And if you have a friend visiting Spain, ask them to pick up some 0.4 olive oil…that’s the low acid stuff.
Which one to buy…?
Not all olive oils are the same, of course because there are more than 250 different varieties of olives. So which type of Spanish olive oil should you get? Well, that’s hard to say because the country has 340 million olive trees, and hundreds of different varieties of olives, each with its own flavors and aromas…and of course blends can be amazing too! So what do you do? In general…just trust your nose and your taste. Do you want grassier or smoother, spicier or not?
These are a few of my favorite varieties…but if you see other ones out there, be adventurous!
The elegant Arbequina is from Catalonia and one of the smallest olive varieties. It grows near the Mediterranean, so the olives receive a salty, beautiful sea breeze, and the oil that comes from it is sweet, with an aroma of fresh herbs and artichoke. This is the kind of oil you want to use fresh out of the bottle, in a vinaigrette or as a finishing drizzle.
The Picual is the most abundant olive variety in Spain (and the world). It grows on silvery gnarled branches and has a fruity flavor with hints of banana, mint, and other green herbs…with a slight peppery finish. You could use this for dipping toasted bread or vegetables, but it is also good for cooking—I love it for sautéing fish, or to add an extra layer of flavor to savory beef stew or lamb dishes.
Of course, you know I love telling stories through ingredients—and the Cornicabra olive from Toledo, in central Spain, tells the story of this region. For centuries, three diverse cultures—Christian, Muslim, and Jewish—have co-inhabited this area and, over time, this unique variety evolved. It produces a robust olive oil with spicy notes and slightly bitter edge and can be used in foods from ALL of the culinary traditions I just mentioned. I use it in my restaurants to cook rice dishes and seafood, or at home for pasta and paella. It is just as delicious fresh, for sauces and dipping.
Where to find it
Of course there are many places to find your Spanish extra-virgin olive oil…as long as you pass the Italian oils and leave them on the shelf…! But for aIl of your immediate needs, you can find some great options in my online shop…my oils, which are made by the incredible producer Casas de Hualdo, are a great way to try things out and see what you like. And if you can’t decide, you can get the Olive Oil Tasting Kit, and have a little olive oil tasting party. Leave a comment and let us all know your favorite!
If you are an annual or monthly subscriber, you received a discount code in your welcome email so you can get 15% off a purchase at Little Spain! I’ll also send a reminder on Wednesday with the recipe this week.
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