Just as fine wines are pressed from a vast selection of grapes that determine their flavour, so also fine olive oil – the “liquid gold” of all the finest chefs – is made from a vast variety of olives that produce distinct differences in flavour. In fact, there are some two hundred and sixty-two different varieties of olive grown in Spain. To list them all would do little justice to any one of them, but some of the better-known are mentioned below.

Because it is such an emblem of the Mediterranean, however, the history of its introduction to Spain is well worth a mention. It’s believed that the Phoenicians (from present-day Lebanon) spread olive tree cultivation throughout the Greek islands and then brought the practice to the Spanish coasts more than 3,000 years ago, or around 1050 BC. The Iberian peninsula was truly covered by olive trees by the Romans, however, with Emperor Hadrian (that’s right, him of the Wall-building fame) even minting a coin bearing a picture of olive tree branches and an inscription saying Hispania. Rome became a major importer of olive oil and provided the spur for further improving the cultivation and processing of olive oil. The techniques used for olive oil extraction have thus been improved and perfected over some three millennia years.

The cultivation of olive trees continued under the Moorish occupation, until the fall of that empire reduced consumption of olive oil in Africa. During the war-torn Middle Ages, however, few resources were directed towards olive oil production, which became a product enjoyed only by the wealthy upper classes.

Following Columbus’ discovery of America in 1492, however, Andalusia and Extremadura were key to the export of olive tree cultivation overseas – mainly to Peru, Chile and other countries of South America.

Even though olive trees can therefore now be found all over the world, its original homeland in the Mediterranean is where most of the trees are grown and where most of the olive oil is extracted. Spain remains the country with the highest density of olive trees and the highest volume of oil production anywhere in the world. Regionally, production extends from Extremadura to Catalonia, taking in Andalusia, Murcia, Castilla la Mancha, Valencia and Aragon – all of which have jealously guarded origin denominations – Denominación de Origin – of Spanish olive oil.

For an agricultural crop, olives and olive oil are a surprisingly “hot” commodity and variations in the price of olive oil on the world markets have very significant effects. During one period last year, for example, when the cost of olive oil was reaching some all-time highs ($5.67 a litre, compared to $3.95 the previous year), the high prices spawned a wave of organised crime, with some 500,000 litres being stolen from olive oil pressing plants in Andalusia. Additional police patrols had to be organised to prevent still more of the precious liquid being siphoned off by thieves.

As mentioned earlier, there are many, many varieties of olive, which give the pressed oils their distinctive tastes. Amongst the favourites are: Arbequina – from the region of Les Garrigues in Catalonia. These small, round olives produce an oil that can vary from emerald green to a deep golden yellow. The

initial flavour is nutty sweet, reminiscent of melon and almond, but with a surprisingly peppery accent, and a mellow, fruity after-taste. It has a delicate flavour, which tends to be lost when used for frying, so is better served for marinated vegetables and grilled fish.

The Cornicabra olive has been grown for centuries in Toledo and Ciudad Real. It is a stable oil because it contains 77% monounsaturated fatty acids. As with the arbequina olives, cornicabra fruit is very difficult to pick mechanically and therefore is only used in fine oils. It produces golden fruity oil with greenish reflections, which tastes velvety, sweetish, and slightly bitter. It is suitable for dressing warm salads, roasted and stewed vegetables, and in uncooked sauces such as mayonnaise and as a marinade for game.

The Empeltre olive from Aragon produces an oil that ranges from pale yellow to old gold in colour. It has a fruity, sometimes slightly sweet almond flavour with no bitterness. Its smoothness makes it ideal for blending with other olive oils that are more pungent and bitter — two attributes that tend to be unappreciated outside of Spain.

The Hojiblanca takes its name from the whitish underside of the leaves, which gives the tree a silvery appearance from a distance. The trees are grown extensively in the east of Sevilla, south of Córdoba and across the north of Málaga. The fruit is usually large, plump and almost perfectly spherical. However, harvesting is difficult and the oil yield is low. For these reasons it is used only in high quality oils. Hojiblanca has a tremendous range of flavours, but the most characteristic one is sweetness when first tasted, followed by a slightly bitter almond aftertaste.

Oil pressed from the Picual olive grown in Jaén, Córdoba and Granada tends to have a lot of body with some bitterness, and a pleasant fresh flavour. Good for salads and gazpachos, it is also traditionally used for frying as it behaves well when heated, for meat dishes and for stews, all of which accept its vitality well. Picual is often blended with picudo and hojiblanca. Picual is among the healthiest olive oils due to its fatty acid content and the amount of natural antioxidants.