{"id":20002,"date":"2026-10-31T09:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/?p=20002"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T08:17:15","slug":"oil-is-an-ingredient-and-mediterranean-cuisine-is-forgetting-its-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/oil-is-an-ingredient-and-mediterranean-cuisine-is-forgetting-its-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil is an ingredient and Mediterranean cuisine is forgetting its roots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Where does the habit of buying olive oil for \u20ac4,99 at the supermarket come from? It stems from a lack of education\u2014both in schools and at home. This piece explores the pivotal role of formal schooling, examines global data, and puts forward a proposal to include the study of olive oil in the educational curriculum.<\/p>\n\n

How many times do we walk into a supermarket, look at the shelf, and find ourselves standing before bottles of extra virgin olive oil priced at 4,99 euros or just a little more? We do it because the economic crisis is taking its toll, certainly. But the truth, the uncomfortable one we struggle to admit, is that behind that price tag lies a massive cultural void. It reflects a complete lack of knowledge about a product that serves as the absolute cornerstone of Mediterranean cuisine.<\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s take a step back. Actually, let\u2019s take two: let\u2019s go all the way back to when we were children.<\/p>\n\n

In schools, in books, and at the dinner table with our parents, we were taught how to distinguish between different cuts of meat, how to recognize a good wine, and how to tell the difference between mass-produced and artisanal cheese. But what about olive oil? Extra virgin olive oil has long been viewed as an anonymous liquid, something useful only for “greasing the pan” or tossing into a salad without much thought. No one ever taught us to identify its aromas, to perceive bitterness and pungency as indicators of quality and health, or to understand that an artisanal olive mill produces more than just fat: it produces biodiversity, a sense of place, and culture.<\/p>\n\n

The redemption of olive oil begins in the classroom.<\/h2>\n\n

If we truly wish to change course, a significant leap forward must begin with the youngest generation\u2014that is, within our schools. Commendable initiatives are already being carried out in the field by various organizations; for instance, consider the educational programs and projects promoted by groups like *Citt\u00e0 dell’Olio*, which introduce children to the rural world and the workings of an olive mill. However, while these initiatives are praiseworthy, they remain fragmented, often depending entirely on the goodwill of individual schools or local authorities.<\/p>\n\n

As Antonio Persico<\/strong> aptly pointed out on OlivoNews<\/strong><\/a>, “the revival of our olive oil begins in the classroom.”<\/em><\/strong> It is no longer enough to leave awareness-raising efforts to one-off workshops or sporadic school field trips. A true qualitative leap will only occur when the culture of the olive tree is organically integrated into school curricula\u2014becoming a formal subject or a structured educational pillar within food and civic education. Today\u2019s children are tomorrow\u2019s consumers and producers; if they do not learn to recognize the value of extra virgin olive oil at school, they will continue to be swayed by the dynamics of the supermarket once they reach adulthood.<\/p>\n\n

The global geography of consumption and the value of time<\/h2>\n\n

The figures serve to remind us just how vast and strategic this market is: a recent study conducted by Professor Juan Vilar <\/strong>as part of the Innova Olive Oil University Classroom<\/strong> outlines a global landscape in which olive growing now spans 67 producing countries and 198 consuming countries<\/strong>. The Innova Classroom forecasts that global consumption will grow by between 14% and 20% over the next twenty-four years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

And yet, while the whole world is discovering and appreciating olive oil, in countries with a long-standing tradition, we risk losing our sense of proportion.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

Just think about it: a liter of good extra virgin olive oil in an average household easily lasts a week, often longer. We are talking about an expense of just a few cents a day for a cornerstone of our health. Yet, while we are willing to spend significant amounts on a bottle of wine or an alcoholic indulgence, we treat olive oil as an incidental cost to be kept as low as possible. Buying olive oil for 4.99 euros means accepting a compromise that undermines the hard work of farmers, and our own health.<\/p>\n\n

What can we do right away?<\/h2>\n\n

We cannot wait for awareness to emerge on its own. Concrete action is needed on two fronts: the education of young children and the dining-out sector.<\/p>\n\n

The first major issue concerns restaurants. When we dine out, we are handed a wine list as thick as a novel, featuring a selection of wines by the glass and carefully curated pairings. But what about the olive oil? In the vast majority of establishments, the oil provided at the table comes in an anonymous cruet, often poorly refilled or, worse yet, is a generic, low-quality product chosen solely to cut costs.<\/p>\n\n

We should demand and promote the inclusion of olive oil menus in restaurants. Imagine sitting down at a table and being able to choose which extra virgin olive oil to pair with your dish, perhaps a light, fruity single-varietal for fish, or a bold, peppery one to add character to a bruschetta. Culture is shaped through sensory experience. If a customer tries a high-quality olive oil at a restaurant, while being guided through the story behind the different cultivars\u2014they will return home with a new level of awareness.<\/p>\n\n

The battle for olive oil is not a matter for industry insiders or snobbish gourmets. It is a question of cultural and nutritional survival. It is time to place olive oil back at the center of the table, starting in our schools, and to turn every meal into an opportunity to learn how to choose the very best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover why extra virgin olive oil priced at \u20ac4.99 is a symptom of a cultural void. From school education to olive oil menus in restaurants: solutions for preserving authentic Mediterranean cuisine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowing-evo-oil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20010,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20002\/revisions\/20010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olioaroldo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}