Food and Drink Atlas

How The World Eats
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Ingredient

Olive Oil

Fats and Oils

Oil pressed from the fruit of the olive tree, the defining fat of Italian, French, Middle Eastern and wider Mediterranean cuisine, used for cooking, dressing and preservation and central to religious and ceremonial use across the ancient Mediterranean world besides its culinary role. Olive domestication and early pressing are both attested archaeologically in the Levant and wider eastern Mediterranean.

Facts
Disputed
Earliest Documented Use, From (Year)
6000 BCE to 4000 BCE 1
Dating for early olive domestication and oil pressing varies by site across the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant; a range is given rather than a single year.
Origin Region
The eastern Mediterranean and the Levant 1
Connections

Used By

Hummus, Dishes
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Moroccan Cuisine, Cuisines

Olive oil is a base fat in Moroccan cooking.

Source Moroccan Cuisine (Wikipedia)
Source Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Olive Oil Production Facilities in North Africa (Smithsonian Magazine)Sarah Kuta
Paella, Dishes
Source Paella, Rice With Everything (Smithsonian Magazine)Derek Workman
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Source Un Pais de Tapas (Real Academia de Gastronomia, Spain)
Sources
1. The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
  • entry: Olive oil
  • Used By: Hummus
  • Used By: Pizza Margherita
Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009
  • Used By: Italian Cuisine, entry: Olive Oil
  • Used By: Middle Eastern Cuisine, entry: Olive Oil
  • Used By: Portuguese Cuisine, entry: Olive Oil
Un Pais de Tapas (Real Academia de Gastronomia, Spain)
Real Academia de Gastronomia (Spain)Used By: Spanish CuisineView the Source
Paella, Rice With Everything (Smithsonian Magazine)
Derek Workman, Smithsonian Magazine, 2011Used By: PaellaView the Source
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Olive Oil Production Facilities in North Africa (Smithsonian Magazine)
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2025Used By: North African CuisineView the Source
Moroccan Cuisine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUsed By: Moroccan CuisineView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.