Olive trees are native to the Mediterranean where they have grown and bore fruit for thousands of years
Olive oil is technically a fruit juice and the olives are pressed much like an orange or lemon.
There are hundreds of olive varieties, 250 of those varieties are grown in Spain alone. In fact Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil, and along with Italy and Greece they produce 75 per cent of the world’s olive oil.
People who live in the Mediterranean, whose main source of fat is olive oil, have the lowest mortality rates in the world from cardiovascular disease.
In ancient Greece, women used olive oil on their skin as a moisturizer; it continues to be used in many skin care products today.
Olive oil can be stored for more than two years, if kept in a cool, dark place – longer than any other edible oil.
It takes an olive tree upwards to eight years to mature and bear fruit.
Olive oil has a wide range of flavours from smooth, mild and buttery to spicy, peppery and pungent.