If there is one ingredient that defines Greek cooking, it is olive oil. Not a drizzle here and there like you might see in some modern restaurant kitchens, but generous, unapologetic quantities of the stuff. My mother used to say that if you could not taste the olive oil, you had not used enough.

Growing up in a Greek-Australian household, olive oil was not a condiment. It was the foundation of nearly every meal. We poured it over salads, cooked vegetables in it, dipped bread into it, and my father even drank a small glass of it each morning, a habit he claimed kept him healthy into his eighties.

What Makes Greek Olive Oil Different

Greece produces some of the finest olive oil in the world, and a staggering percentage of it is extra virgin. The dominant variety is Koroneiki, a small olive that produces intensely flavoured oil with a peppery finish and notes of green grass and tomato leaf.

Compared to the milder oils from some parts of Italy or Spain, Greek oil tends to be more robust. It has a bite to it, a slight bitterness that is actually a sign of quality and high polyphenol content. Those polyphenols are the antioxidants that make olive oil so good for you.

Finding Good Greek Oil in Australia

Sydney has no shortage of Greek olive oil if you know where to look. Here are my go-to sources:

Greek specialty stores in Marrickville, Earlwood, and along the Hume Highway corridor in the southern suburbs carry imported Greek oils. Look for brands from Kalamata, Crete, and the Peloponnese.

The Mediterranean Wholesalers in Marrickville is a treasure trove. They stock multiple Greek brands and the staff can talk you through the differences.

Australian-grown Greek varieties are worth trying too. There are growers in Victoria and South Australia producing Koroneiki oil from trees planted by Greek migrants decades ago. The flavour profile is slightly different from oils produced in Greece due to the soil and climate, but they are excellent.

Online retailers have expanded options enormously. You can order directly from Greek producers who ship to Australia.

Cooking With Olive Oil: Dispelling the Myths

There is a persistent myth that you should not cook with extra virgin olive oil because it has a low smoke point. This is wrong. Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of around 190 to 215 degrees Celsius, which is more than adequate for sauteing, roasting, and even frying.

In Greece, people fry in olive oil all the time. Fried zucchini chips, fried cheese, fried eggplant for moussaka, all done in extra virgin olive oil. The idea that you need a “light” olive oil or a seed oil for cooking is a marketing invention, not a culinary tradition.

That said, I keep two grades on hand:

1. A premium extra virgin for finishing dishes, salads, and dipping. This is the good stuff you want to taste.
2. A solid everyday extra virgin for cooking. Still extra virgin, still good quality, but not the bottle you are saving for a special occasion.

How to Store It

Olive oil has three enemies: light, heat, and air. Store your oil in a dark, cool cupboard, not next to the stove where it looks pretty but degrades quickly. Use it within six months of opening for the best flavour, though it remains safe to eat well beyond that.

If you buy oil in clear glass bottles, wrap them in foil or decant into a dark container. Tins are actually the best storage format if you are buying in bulk.

The Olive Oil Taste Test

Next time you have guests over for meze, set out three small dishes of different olive oils with some crusty bread. Let people taste them side by side. You will be surprised at how different they can be. It is a simple thing that turns an ordinary gathering into something more interesting.

Good olive oil is not cheap, but when it is the star of so many dishes, it is worth spending a bit more. A bottle of quality Greek extra virgin will elevate everything from a simple tomato salad to a slow-braised lamb dish.

Find an oil you love and be generous with it. That is the Greek way.