My family occasionally cooks with olive oil, and when I go eat at Olive Garden or a fancy restaurant I love to dip my bread in olive oil and vinegar. I know we have a few olive groves in Georgia but I’ve never visited any or even thought about the production of olives and olive oils. Boy did I think I was in olive oil heaven when I saw that we had bread and olive oil with every meal. If any one asked me what I survived on while I was in Spain I would have to say bread and olive oil. We were able to visit an olive grove in Spain where they made the different types of oils such as extra virgin, virgin, and regular cooking oil. The tour of the olive groves was actually very interesting. I learned a lot about the production and marketing side of the olive industry. One of the biggest things that I was corrected on was that olives grow on TREES and not bushes. I honestly didn’t even know how olives grew but I did not imagine it was a tree. I guess you do really learn something new every day. One similarity that I found between American agriculture compared to Spain’s is that much like the dairy industry is mostly family owned, the olive groves are a majority family owned. Of course I gained more knowledge than just those few details but one of my biggest take aways from this olive visit was the intensity of the oils we tasted in Spain as opposed to those I regularly consume back home. Just as the olive oil tasting alone, I could tell a huge difference in the flavor and intensity of the flavor and color. I must say that the oils we tasted there were far more fresh and flavorful than what I’ve had in the states. I was greatly spoiled in my two weeks with the great tasting olive oils and amazing bread.
