The Best Spanish Olive Oils

Why Spain, and why Andalusia

The International Olive Council calls Spain the world's first producer of olive oil. Within Spain, Andalusia dominates: regional figures for one recent season put it at about three-quarters of the country's output, and Jaén alone made more than 40 percent of Andalusia's oil.

Jaén is Picual country, with olive trees running over the hills to the horizon and a handful of estates – Castillo de Canena and Oro Bailén among them – that made Spanish oil a name among chefs. Further west, around Estepa and in the hills of Córdoba, Hojiblanca takes over. In Catalonia, Arbequina rules, from the Siurana DOP in Tarragona to the groves inland. Graza, the squeeze-bottle brand, also uses Picual from Jaén.

Protected origins to look for

A Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP, PDO in English) ties an oil to a defined area, approved olive varieties and production rules, checked by a regulatory council. These five are worth knowing; look for the name and the DOP seal on the label.

Two of our picks carry a DOP: Oleoestepa Hojiblanca (Estepa) and Venta del Barón (Priego de Córdoba). A seal is a good sign but not the only one. Estate producers such as Castillo de Canena and Oro Bailén print their name, the olive variety and the harvest on the bottle, and that tells you just as much.

Reading a Spanish label

Spanish bottles sold abroad usually carry English, but the Spanish words on the back label are worth knowing:

• Aceite de oliva virgen extra – extra virgin olive oil, the top grade.
• Cosecha – harvest; cosecha temprana means early harvest, usually greener and more peppery.
• Consumo preferente – best before.
• Monovarietal – made from a single olive variety; coupage – a blend of varieties.
• Denominación de Origen Protegida – protected designation of origin, often with the seal of the regulatory council.

How to use them

Pan con tomate

Toast a thick slice of rustic bread, rub it with a cut clove of garlic, grate a ripe tomato on the coarse side of a box grater and spoon the pulp over. Finish with a generous pour of Picual or Arbequina and flaky salt. It is the Catalan pa amb tomàquet, eaten across Spain for breakfast and with tapas.

Salmorejo

Córdoba's cold tomato soup is thicker than gazpacho. Blend ripe tomatoes with day-old bread, a little garlic, salt and a splash of sherry vinegar, then stream in olive oil until the soup turns creamy and orange. Serve it chilled with chopped hard-boiled egg and a thread of oil. A Hojiblanca or a soft Picual suits it well.

Grilled fish

Over grilled sardines, sea bream or prawns, a raw drizzle of green Picual at the table does what a sauce would do elsewhere. Our Andalusian espeto guide shows the method on a home grill, and the easy Mediterranean meals use the same oils on weeknights.

In the pan and the oven

Picual is the robust one for cooking: it keeps its character in a sofrito, under roasted vegetables and around fried eggs. Arbequina is better raw or in baking, where its softness is an advantage – Castillo de Canena even suggests it in place of butter in cakes.

How we chose

We started with the varieties and the regions, then looked for bottles that name both, publish harvest information and are actually sold in the US, the UK or Germany – on Amazon or at Olive Oil Lovers, a US specialist shop. Facts come from the producers' pages, the Olive Oil Lovers listings and the official DOP specifications published by Spain's agriculture ministry, the Junta de Andalucía and the EU. We did not run tastings; tasting notes are the producers' and importers' own descriptions. Not every bottle is sold everywhere, so the selection you see depends on your country. For the basics of reading any olive oil label, see the olive oil guide; for more from the region, the Mediterranean kitchen.