Catalan Olives and Where to Buy Best Olive Oil in Barcelona

Olives and the oil extracted from them are the very essence of Mediterranean countries. They permeate our traditions, our idiosyncrasy and our very existence, since they give us health too. Wild olives were collected by Neolithic peoples as early as the 8th millennium BC. Its trees were grown even before language came to life. Shrub-like "feral" olives still exist in the Middle East and represent the original stock from which all other olives are descended. 

Oil was used to anoint athletes after winning or was applied to the dead. Olive oil purifies and soothes the soul, cleanses the mind. Does that mean that if you use the extra virgin kind, would you be cleaner?. I digress. By the way, virgin or extra virgin, means that you do not use chemicals to produce it, that you get the oil just by pressing the olives. 

In Catalonia, there are many varieties of olives that are cultivated across the region. Among them you have the picual (very common and responsible for 25 % of all oil in the world), the empeltre (black) , the arbequina (smaller, very tasty and one of my favorites). Also cornicabra, blanqueta, farga, manzanilla fina and sevillana just to mention some. 

Before buying olive oil you should know that some of them really make the difference. There is good Andalusian oil, and there is good Catalan oil, and so on. I have bought myself extremely good olive oil in Priego, Cordoba for example and have found good rivals many times in oils produced in Lleida, Catalonia. 

Here is a good article on where to buy excellent olive oil in Barcelona  

At the local markets you can find gourmet stands specialized in Catalan olive oil like this one at Mercat de la Concepció from Les Garrigues, Lleida   where you can buy excellent Arbequina extra virgin olive oil 

But where to buy the olives? I recommend you visit this stand at Mercat de Sant Antoni Olives i Conserves Torres.

Here are some more places to buy olive oil in Barcelona:

Orolíquido: Located at Palla, 8 in the Gothic Quarter, Orolíquido is a charming shop that showcases a wide selection of extra virgin olive oils from top producers. In addition to oils, they also offer natural cosmetic products that contain olive oil as an ingredient. The shop is known for hosting tastings, product presentations, and conferences.

Olives i conserves El Piñol: Situated at La Rambla, 91, El Piñol is a stall within the vibrant Mercat de la Boqueria. Here, you can find an extensive variety of olives, alongside a curated selection of international and gourmet products. It's a great place to explore the rich flavors and options available.

Olives i conserves Merino: Located at Creu Coberta, 93, within the Mercat d'Hostafrancs, Merino is renowned for its wide range of olives, including sweet varieties. Apart from olives, the shop focuses on appetizer specialties, offering an assortment of conserves for vermouth. They also feature a selection of Cavas, wines, and gourmet Italian products.

Vom Fass Barcelona: Vom Fass, situated at Cigne, 14, is a shop that pays homage to olive oil. It has been recognized by the Barcelona City Council for its sustainable model. The shop offers an array of products, including the finest extra virgin olive oils, flavored oils (such as fruit-infused and nut oils), and a diverse selection of vinegars and balsamics.

Oli Sal: Nestled in the Gràcia neighborhood at Travessera de Gràcia, 170, Oli Sal is a specialty shop that shares its name with two daily essentials: olive oil and salt. With a passion for extra virgin olive oil, they offer a range of oils sourced from different geographic regions. Additionally, they provide an assortment of salts and vinegars from various locations.

Olis 1921: Situated at Entença, 124, Olis 1921 is a shop owned by a cooperative that brings together different producers of arbequina olive oil, which is crafted in the Lleida region of Les Garrigues. This shop specializes in extra virgin olive oil, emphasizing the properties and value of this precious ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. They also offer organic options.

The Olive Tree, a Charismatic Mediterranean Storyteller

We can say that there are anonymous trees and then there are trees with charisma. There are trees that would be the pawns in a chessboard and then there is the queen or the king. I mean, you can walk past a whole line of identical spruces and remain indifferent while stumbling upon an oak, a sequoia or a baobab makes you experience that certain something certifying that the thing is alive, that it has some history, a story to tell. Here in Europe, in the Mediterranean basin, one of the most emblematic story tellers and history witnesses is the olive tree. Olives from Greek Elaia give this healthy and tasty oil that has been present in the collective memory of Mediterranean peoples for ages. There are so many dishes, so many recipes, so many products associated with olive oil, so many victories associated with olive branches, so many years of fallowing, of harvesting, of successful crops, of prosperous trade with other countries...olive trees do have a lot to tell if only we knew how to understand them. I had a little conversation with this one at Parc del Laberint.

Dressed Spanish Olives

Lets talk about food today, about one of the cornerstones of the traditional Mediterranean diet: olives. In Spanish they are called aceitunas derived from aceite which means oil. In Catalan we call it olives too, with the stress on the i, being oli the word used to designate such oleaginous liquid. The scientific name, Olea europaea, speaks for itself about the final product obtained from the fruit and the origin and habitat of this tree. There are different kinds of olives with some peculiar names many times conditioned by the region where they are grown.

Green olives as the name suggests are picked from the tree before they ripen. Black olives are then the ripe ones, to be more precise, those ripened on the tree. There are about 14 varieties classified in Spain: Blanqueta, Callosina, Arbequina, Gordal sevillana, Cornicabra, Manzanilla cacereña, Villalonga, Serrana de Espadán, Morrut, Changlot Real, Canetera, Alfafara, Hojiblanca, Carrasqueño de Córdoba with a whole lot of local synonyms. No need to say that other countries in the Mediterranean like Italy, Greek, Syria, Turkey have their own.

Before serving the olives, some preparation is required to get rid of their normal bitterness. You may buy them canned or bottled but there's the possibility of dressing them on your own. Green olives like the ones you see in the image, acquire that final salty spicy flavor from the extra ingredients people put into the dressing. Don't bother taking those in the bottle to make your own home-made concoction. You need them clean to start with, without previous treatment although it says they are salt free. Once you manage to buy them free of salt, you put them in water to get rid of the bitter taste, change the liquid every 12 hours till the greenest of them tastes sweet. If you don't cut them into halves or squeeze them first the process will take longer. The more you squeeze the shorter the time. The container where you place the olives must not be made of metal nor should you use any metal object or your hands to remove. Once sweet, they are ready to take that dressing. The dressing is applied by layers and shall cover the content. They will acquire maximum flavor in about a week. The ingredients depend on you although there is a certain limitation of course. You may use garlic, thyme, laurel, oregano, paprika, cumin, fennel, orange shells. Remember the basis is water but you can add lemon and/or vinegar. I am not a cook myself and cannot take responsibilities for the right results here but in essence, you may come up with some tasty aceitunas aliñadas in the end.

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