Cretan Olive Oil. The Definitive Cretan Olive Oil Place: Quality of Olive Oil

Quality of Olive Oil

Quality of Olive Oil

The special geo- climatic conditions of Crete and, in particular , the sun- drenched days of summer and autumn, along with the proper applicatio n of local research, not to mention the love of the Cretans for the olive tree and its oil, have all culminated in a spectacula r improvemen t in the level of quality!
Today, over 95% of the olive oil produced in Crete belongs to the highest category of quality labeled as "Extra Virgin".

Categories Of Olive Oil Quality

Quality plays a decisive role in the taste and the health benefits of olive oil. This is why the consumer must be able to distinguis h between the various types of quality and make his choice accordingl y.

Factors favouring quality

Olive oil as it is produced on Crete today has excellent quality characteri stics. Its acidity is extremely low and its organolept ic characteri stics (flavour, aroma) are excellent. Thus a quite large percentage of Cretan olive oil in the order of 85-95%, depending on annual conditions , is placed in the highest quality category of EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (Fig. 1). The correspond ing figures for olive oils from other olive oil producing countries is today considerab ly lower.

Its excellent organolept ic characteri stics, in other words the unparallel ed flavour and exceptiona l aroma of Cretan olive oil, is certainly due to the high levels of sunshine and the dry climate which prevails in most areas of the island, particular ly during the autumn and winter period when the oil is formed in the fruit.

Nonetheles s, achievemen t of the top quality of Cretan olive oil is also contribute d to and assisted by the diligent cultivatio n of producers and effective combating of the olive fly in conjunctio n with proper and rapid harvesting .

Shortening the period of time between harvesting and pressing and the high conditions of cleanlines s of the olive fruit from the olive plantation to the olive press are also considered to be important technical factors which contribute decisively to improving quality.

Shortening the time from harvesting to pressing, which over recent years has reached just 1-2 days, is a Greek success which is due, in addition to mechanizin g of harvesting using small olive collection devices, too to the large number of modern high capacity olive presses which exist on Crete which manage to process almost all olives received each day.

Internatio nal recognitio n of quality

The quality of extra virgin olive oil produced on Crete has been officially recognized by internatio nal organizati ons, leading scientists and specialist tasters.

However, practical acknowledg ement of the quality lead of Cretan olive oil is demonstrat ed by the demand for it and its supply to major internatio nal, and in particular Italian, processing industries which absorb almost all production each year in order to produce their own higher quality blends.

Moreover, Cretan olive oil has also been awarded a plethora of internatio nal prizes and other acknowledg ements in official internatio nal and global contests.

The extra virgin olive oil with the protected designatio n of origin SITIA produced by the Union of Agricultur al Cooperativ es of Sitia has won a considerab le number of internatio nal awards just some of which are:

* 2002. The Mario Solinas 1st Prize in the Internatio nal Quality Contest held by the Internatio nal Olive Oil Council for the Intense Fruitiness Section.
* 2001. The Mario Solinas 1st Prize in the Internatio nal Quality Contest held by the Internatio nal Olive Oil Council for the Intense Fruitiness Section.
* 1999. The "Leone d' Oro" Prize in the internatio nal SOL'99 contest held in Verona, Italy.
* 1977/8. 1st prize for the Virgin harmony category in the internatio nal contest Patrimonio Communal Olivarero held in Spain.

The extra virgin olive oil produced by the Pezon Union of Agricultur al Cooperativ es of Heraklion has also won quite a few prizes and distinctio ns. Some of these are:

* 2003. The gold medal at the Internatio nal Olive Oil Conference on "Olive Oil: Origin, traceabili ty, evaluation " held in Zurich.
* 2003. Acceptance of use of the Pezon Union's olive oil at official meals during the Greek Presidency of the EU.
* 2003. Award from the Panhelleni c Confederat ion of Unions of Agricultur al Cooperativ es in the context of AGROTICA for the extra virgin olive oil "NISOS" produced by the Pezon Union.

The olive oil with the designatio n of origin Kolymbari produced by the Kolymbari Union of Agricultur al Cooperativ es was chosen for athlete's diets during the Tokyo Olympic Games. However there are also many other organic and protected designatio n of origin olive oils which has attained important distinctio ns.

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