Olive Oil from Israel

The olive tree, or olea europaea, belongs to the biome of the Mediterranean woodlands and has been growing in the area for millions of years. People have collected its fruit since early history: the oldest remains of olives, which are from 790,000, were found here in Israel, in the archeological site Daughters of Jacob Bridge.

The oil made from the tree’s fruit is among the first vegetable fats the inhabitants of the Mediterranean region produced. An excavation at Ein Zippori unearthed the earliest evidence of the use of olive oil in the world: residue of olive oil in clay pots created by primeval man, who was only beginning to learn how to make such jars in the Galilee in the Neolithic period, about 8,000 years ago. The oil press that’s considered the oldest in the world was discovered in an underwater excavation off the shores of Haifa, and dates to the Chalcolithic period about 6,500 years ago.

Despite its long history in the region, olive oil only entered the Jewish-Israeli kitchen through the back door. The actual introduction into the modern Jewish-Israeli kitchen occurred via the local Italian food trend in the 1990s. The first shops to sell extra virgin olive oil, and not “refined” oil, were health food shops (according to Shalom Ashush, owner of the organic store (“Teva Gav”).

After the foundation of Israel, the development of intensive agriculture in the Jewish sector led to agricultural research of olive farming and later the development of new cultivars for cured olives and olive oil. Today, olive farming occupies more land than any other agricultural industry in Israel. It spans over 60,000 acres of rain-fed orchards, and around 20,000 acres of irrigated land, of which 5,000 acres are used to grow olives for eating.

Israel olive oil is generally mild in taste and not overpowering, bringing out the pleasant taste of the olive oil with a robust, fresh, and fruity taste. It is ideal for cooking, dousing on salads, with hummus.

Sacco Imports only imports olive oil produced by independent farmers using sustainable farming methods.

Supporting Sacco Imports with your purchase, you are helping to ensure that the oldest olive oil communities worldwide continue to thrive while you savor the Mediterranean’s most exquisite olive oils.