Olive Oil

Olive trees have been grown in Portugal from time immemorial.

Portugal's excellent climatic conditions help explain the success of olive cultivation, making the country one of the main producers of olive oil in the world.

Although traditional presses are rarely found still working in Portugal, the stages through which the olive is turned into olive oil remain largely the same. The period from picking to oil extraction is also still kept to a minimum, since the shorter it is the better the quality of the oil.

Olive oil may vary in colour, flavour and aroma, depending on where it is produced and the type of olive used. The growing conditions and extraction process also have considerable influence. This is the only vegetable fat that affords a choice of several flavours which can be produced according to personal preference.

In addition to being a fundamental feature of food and gastronomy, olive oil has been present in Portuguese culture in other areas, with a vast range of uses, from lighting fuel in lanterns and small lamps to lavish candlesticks and chandeliers. Nowadays, however, olive oil is used mainly in food, having always reigned supreme in Portuguese gastronomy. There are traditional dished which would undoubtedly be far less popular were it not for olive oil.

Olive cultivation and olive production have not lost their position in the culture and economy of the Portuguese, and are still one of the most important activities related to food production.