Aren Italian olive oils really the best?
Both excellent and fraudulent EVO oils come to us from Italy, so generalization is dangerous. Tuscany is a center of olive oil excellence, and Sicily, Liguria, Umbria and Campagnia also produce excellent olive oils – not to mention the oils from smaller regions. On the other hand, Italy exports five times more oil than could possibly be produced within the country – and the US demand for Extra Virgin olive oil consumes a huge amount of that export. (The unstated factors are the quantity of oil imported into Italy, its quality and even its authenticity.) Olive trees grow around the globe in areas with a Mediterranean climate, and excellent olive oils are possible wherever quality production techniques are followed. Annual international competitions, including the Los Angeles County Fair, have become quite interesting in recent years, as the number of competing oils and participating countries have both increased dramatically. California is also experiencing a regrowth of its olive oil i
