The World's Most Expensive Olive Oil

Lambda Olive Oil

Sitting here thinking about the depressing financial state of the economy at the moment I got to wondering about which is the world's most expensive olive oil. It would appear that the answer is an oil from the Kritsa region of Crete.

Lambda is an intensely fruity oil with a very low acidity. Made from Koroneiki olives that are cold pressed within 8 hours of picking, the resulting oil is poured into specially designed flasks and then stoppered with a silicone cork, all this is done by hand to create oil of the finest quality - marketed as the world's first luxury olive oil.

If you want to sample some for yourself you need to dig deep into your wallet - the price is around 150 euros per litre! If this isn't quite impressive enough you can pay more to have your signature engraved on the bottle, quite a bit more actually - this will set you back over 10,000 euros!! More information is available from the Sperion Company.

Olive Conservation in Malta

Photo credit: rosevita from morguefile.com

Indigenous olive trees growing in Malta were at risk of being lost and replaced by imported cultivars.  Dating back over 2000 years these native trees have shown good resistance to disease especially to attack from the olive fruit fly.

To prevent the loss of these ancient trees retired jeweller Sam Cremona set up the PRIMO project (a collaboration between the Maltese Government and the Bank of Valletta) which is working to use grafted cuttings to increase the stock.

The long term aim of the project is to have over 30,000 trees grown across Malta and Gozo enabling the production of monocultivar Maltese olive oil.

Bioenergy From Olive Trees

The use of olive tree prunings for fuel is traditional in olive growing areas throughout the world.  Now however, as fuel prices increase and concerns grow about sustainability, the possibility of commercial energy production from olive tree prunings is the subject of various research projects. Biomass is an  alternative energy source which is gaining increasing interest - it will be fascinating to see how these initiatives develop.  Already the waste from commercial olive oil production is being used for energy generation, Spain in particular is making use of olive pits to generate domestic and commercial heating solutions.

Congratulations Australia!

The Australian Olive Association has reported that the 2011 harvest has produced just over 16 million litres of olive oil - so fire up the barbie! Victoria is the highest producing state responsible for over 10 million litres.

Whilst production is slightly down on predictions, due in part to the heat and heavy flooding earlier in the year, the good news is that over 80% of this olive oil meets the extra virgin classification.

Send A Postcard

Email is great but why not surprise someone by sending them a postcard this summer! Inspired by photos taken during my travels a range of high quality products are now available including cards, mugs, aprons, bags and mouse mats. The best news is you can customise them at no extra charge - so why not add a name or message and MAKE SOMEONE'S DAY - today!

The Olives Are Waiting by OlivePicking
Browse other Ripe Postcards

This brilliant design service comes from Zazzle, please use the link above to view the products direct (they don't have a white border this is just for display on the blog).

Australian Olive Oil Standards

Olive oil producers in Australia are welcoming the introduction last week of voluntary new standards which will ensure more accurate labelling of olive oil (both home produced and imported). These provide a clear definition what can be classified as Extra Virgin Olive Oil and producers will need to verify their oil production methods in order to use terms such as  first extraction and cold pressed. Bottles will also be required to carry a 'best before' date that has been accurately formulated. The industry, represented by the Australian Olive Association gave a welcome to the standards which have come about after a lengthy, ten year, consultation process.