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Olive Oil in Croatia

Olive oil, or maslinovo ulje in Croatian, is also called "liquid gold" and many olive oil producers from Croatia have won international awards and other high accolades for their oil. Olive groves can easily be found throughout many areas of the country, especially in the regions of Istria, Dalmatia and several islands. Olive oil is used in or on a lot of the food in Croatia. They use it in soups, on meats, salads, vegetables, pastas, pizzas and bread. You are much more likely to see locals put olive oil on their food than butter or margarine. When you go to a restaurant, if the olive oil is not already on the table, the server will bring it to you. If you really want to look like a tourist you will ask for butter for your bread, but olive oil is much healthier and in Croatia, I promise, it tastes so much better!

olive tree

Many manufacturers are small, family owned and run businesses, some carrying on this tradition for multiple generations with olive trees over 100 years old. Several offer tours of their farm and show where and how they process the olives. Many also offer tastings, have a shop and some even offer event space. Cadenela Organic Olive Oil even gives you the opportunity to adopt your own olive tree, where they will take care of it and you will receive half a liter of its oil every year. Croatians who have olive trees on their property can take their olives to places such as, Al Torcio Olive Oil or Agro-Millo Olive Oil, to have them pressed and turned into oil to then take home and use at their leisure.

olive grove Croatia

In Istria, there are tons of opportunities to visit an olive oil producer. Actually, you cannot get very far down the road without seeing a sign for one. Istria's rolling hills, rich in nutrients soil and combination of mountain air and salty sea breeze make perfect conditions for growing olive trees. Olive oil is so important to this region that in the city of Pula there is an Olive Oil Museum. This museum features the history of Istria's olive oil and offers guided tours, tastings and a gift shop.



Here are several olive oil producers you can visit while you're in the Istria region:

Nearby, on the island of Krk you have Krćko 10-30-10 Olive Oil and a restaurant called Olive Garden - Ulika Maslinik. This restaurant is located inside an olive grove where they produce their own olive oil and offer authentic Croatian cuisine and olive oil tastings. At some restaurants, like Restaurant Dida in Crikvenica, chefs will pair each dish served with a specific kind of olive oil to be used with it. If you are not able to make it to a tasting, this is another great way to try different Croatian olive oils.


READ our other articles on FOOD, WINE and COFFEE in Croatia.

olive oil mill

Olives are harvested in the fall months. Trees are essentially shaked and olives are collected by large nets laying on the ground underneath. First cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil is the most popular kind you will find in Croatia. When the olives are cold pressed it protects healthy vitamins and minerals from being destroyed by heat. When you taste olive oil, you know it's superior quality when it gives a scratchy feeling at the back of your throat. This natural compound, called oleocanthal, helps remove inflammation. The Flos Olei is the world guide of extra virgin olive oils and several Croatian producers, like Monte Formento-Grebac, have been included in it. Years ago, it was very common to use a stone mill to press the olives, but today, manufacturing equipment and techniques have become much more advanced, allowing faster processing and higher quality results. Grubić Olive Oil has a showroom and museum in the original space of their old oil mill, where you can view its restored stone mills, presses, hydraulic pumps and other parts. Several companies are certified organic, which you will see listed clearly on the bottle, and some have a protected designation of origin label, like brothers Sandi and Tedi of Chiavalon Olive Oil and Oleo Prima Bio Olive Oil have earned.

Here are a few olive oil producers you can visit while you're in the Dalmatia region:



Each olive oil has a story to tell, whether that's the age or type of the trees, the variety of it's soil or environment, or through the families who have cared for the land and where the name of the oil came from. There is a lot of pride when it comes to making olive oil in Croatia and owners take the quality of the work they do very seriously. Support these small businesses and experience their liquid gold excellence.


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Happy Travels!  Sretan Put!


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