Why Do We Flavour Olive Oil?
At Olivetta, we believe that how an olive oil is flavoured matters just as much as the flavour itself. Different methods create very different results, influencing everything from freshness and balance, to consistency and longevity. This is why understanding the process behind the bottle matters when quality and flavour are paramount.
For thousands of years, olive oil has been more than simply a cooking ingredient. Across the Mediterranean, it has been used in food, medicine, skincare, ceremony and preservation. Ancient Greek and Roman cultures infused olive oil with herbs, citrus, flowers and spices for both culinary and therapeutic purposes, long before the modern pantry discovered chilli oils and garlic drizzles.
In the beginning, flavouring olive oil was often done for practical reasons. Fresh herbs, citrus peel and aromatics were added to oils to help preserve ingredients, botanicals were added to create medicinal preparations, and in worst-case scenarios flavours were used to disguise imperfections in lower quality oils. Over time, these combinations became regional traditions and recipes and methods were passed down from one generation to another.
Today, flavoured olive oils sit somewhere between tradition and innovation. When quality, authenticity and flavour integrity are important, understanding the difference will influence how you purchase and use your flavoured olive oil. There are essentially three main ways olive oil is flavoured: infusion, Agrumato, and natural flavouring. Each method creates a very different result.
Traditional Infusion
Infusion is perhaps the oldest and simplest method. Herbs, spices, garlic or citrus peel are steeped in olive oil after pressing, allowing flavour compounds to slowly transfer into the oil over time. Popular infusion profiles include rosemary, garlic or chilli infused olive oil.
There are many factors that can affect the quality of these oils, such as the freshness of the ingredients, the quality of the base olive oil, how the oil is bottled and stored, and the hygiene practices in creating the infusion. In addition, as fresh ingredients, think your peeled garlic clove or chopped up chilli, contain water, this can shorten shelf life and potentially introduce spoilage risks if not handled correctly. One way that many producers mitigate this is by using dried ingredients or carefully filtered techniques.
Infusions can create beautiful flavour profiles, are highly artisanal and are perfect for small batch producers where delicate flavours can develop slowly. They do however have a much shorter shelf life and there is the added risk of sediment or oxidation.
The Agrumato Method
Among olive oil enthusiasts, the Agrumato method, also known as Co-Milling, is often considered the most sophisticated and authentic approach for flavouring olive oil. Originating from the Abruzzo region in central Italy, Agrumato involves crushing fresh olives and fresh citrus, herbs or botanicals together at the exact same time as milling. Rather than adding flavour afterwards, the ingredients become integrated during the extraction itself.
Traditionally this method was used with lemons, though producers now use orange, mandarin, chilli, basil and other ingredients. As the essential oils from the citrus or botanicals are released simultaneously with the olive oil, the flavour becomes structurally integrated into the oil itself.
Though this all sounds fabulous, the reality is that creating Agrumato requires not only perfectly timed harvests, but also extremely high quality ingredients. It is therefore more expensive to produce and can be difficult to maintain the same flavour profile across seasonal harvests.
When done well, it does produce a flavoured oil with a vibrant aromatic profile which retains a strong connection to traditional milling practices.
Natural Flavouring
At Olivetta, we favour premium natural flavouring methods because they allow us to create a more precise, balanced and consistent flavour profile while still respecting the integrity of the extra virgin olive oil itself. Natural flavouring is the most commercially common method used today, where flavour extracts, natural essences or oils are added directly to the finished extra virgin olive oil.
There is often a misconception that “natural flavours” are artificial. In reality, high-quality natural flavourings are derived from real botanicals, fruits, herbs and spices. When expertly blended with exceptional extra virgin olive oil, they create clarity, freshness and consistency in a way that traditional methods can struggle to achieve.
For us, consistency matters. We want the bright citrus taste of lime, the warmth of chilli, or the freshness of basil to taste exactly as they should every time you open the bottle. And then of course, we have the star of the show, our beautiful and unique White Chocolate and Orange flavoured extra virgin olive oil.
While natural flavourings sometimes get bad press as they are used to mask lower quality oils and can be one-dimensional, we are proud of our flavours. The natural flavouring we use together with our Delicate extra virgin olive oil produces a clean, stable and beautifully balanced oil without sediment, spoilage risks or overpowering bitterness. And we know that every year the flavour you learn to love will still be there waiting for you.
A flavoured olive oil should never feel heavy-handed or artificial as you use it to enhance cooking, elevate simple ingredients and bring ease and inspiration into everyday meals.
That is why we approach flavoured extra virgin olive oils the same way we approach all good food: with care, quality ingredients and an obsession with flavour.
Because at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the olive oil still shines through.
