One of the first things you notice when arriving in Crete is the sheer number of olive trees. Greece produces about 250’000 tons of olive oil per year. With more than 30 million olive trees or 60 per person, Crete contributes a whopping 60%. I do not know of any other place in the world with such a high ratio of olive trees to people. Clearly, the trees love it here. And the people love their olive trees.
Olive Orchard in the Mountains South of Heraklion
Originally imported from the Levant (Lebanon and Israel), olives love Crete’s limestone and clay soil, the abundant humidity during the winter season and the sunlight of this most southern Greek island. Crete is on the same latitude as Tunis, Malta or northern Lebanon. Out of 360’000 ha of arable land, 193’000 ha or 54% are used for growing olives. In comparison, vineyards only take 8’000 ha – or 16’000 ha including the illegally planted vines. Crete’s flag should have an olive at the center :-)
Whilst we bottle our Olive Oil manually, machines do the job in Crete
The size of Crete's olive oil production is gigantic. The island produces more olive oil than Tunisia (185’000 tons) and Turkey (150’000 tons) and would be the world’s third largest olive oil producer were it independent. Only Spain (1.35 million tons) and Italy (390’000 tons) produce more. Crete is not only a volume producer. Over 90% of its olive oil is extra virgin, meaning cold pressed - first round. The remaining oil is extracted with the help of steam and used for soaps and creams. Neither Crete nor Greece are big exporters of olive oil. Of the total production, only 7% or 17’000 tons are exported. Apparently, a family in Crete consumes 1 liter per day. No wonder we never hear of Cretan olive oil – it is consumed by the local connoisseurs.
Most Olive Oil on Crete is produced near Chania and south of Heraklion
Olive oil and wines were the drivers of the ancient Minoan economy and exported all over the Mediterranean. As the wine, olive oil had an excellent reputation and was desired by many. Oil was shipped in big amphorae. Seeing these big amphorae being loaded on the fragile, tiny ships must have been a sight. With so much oil production in antiquity, many ancient oil mills and presses must have survived. During the restoration of our house in Italy, we found the mule track of the olive crusher in our cellar. Even the 300 years old olive press survived – only the spindle is missing. Am looking forward to finding some Minoan remnants when visiting ancient sites next summer.
Replica of a Minoan Olive Crusher. The resulting Mush is then pressed to extract the Oil
Due to their slow growth and hard wood, olive trees enjoy a very longevity. Have seen many olive trees in my life which were hundreds of years old. Crete though has sixteen “sacred” olive trees which are more than 3’000 years old.
There are 16 "sacred" 3'000 Years old Olive Trees in Crete
Due to Crete’s favorable climatic conditions and the good soil, olives are harvested later than in the rest of the Mediterranean. They thus benefit from more exposure to sunshine and have more time to mature. Our olives in the South of France need to be brought in by late October to avoid the risk of hail and olive mosquitos bites. These bugs lay their eggs in the olives as soon as their skin gets soft. The tiny larvae then eat the flesh and kill the fruit.
Olive Harvest in Crete - over time all olives turn black - this basket looks like ours in France
Also, Cretan olives are less watery and contain a higher share of oil. They have more time to mature. Olive harvest in Crete usually starts by mid-November and stretches to Christmas if weather allows. Not surprisingly, the quality of Crete’s olive oil is high. It is mild and fruity on the palate and has a well-balanced acidity. Sounds like our own oil which grows on volcanic soil and is far milder and aromatic than most of the Italian olive oil you can buy.
Cannot wait for our first Olive Oil Tasting - the Bar is set high with out own aromatic Oil
Now have to instruct our chef on the boat to buy olive oil from Crete for the three weeks of sailing this summer. Do not want to miss the experience.
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