olive oil - France or Spain

My daughter and I will be visiting Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain in about a month. I would very much like to bring some olive oil home as gifts. Is the quality of the olive oil in France better than that in Spain? Or should I wait until we get to Spain to purchase the olive oil?

Less than 4 weeks to go. I am so excited!!!!

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Very good olive oil in Spain. There is one very good, low-acid (should not be more than one percent acid per 100gr.) brand, Cuca de Piedra, that comes in a nice 12-oz heavy glass bottle that you can re-cycle once you are home, as a good souvenir. Costs about eight Euros.

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The best olive oil is in Portugal, although my opinion is strongly biased... But yes, spanish is better then french.

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Thanks very much for your responses. You have solved one of my dilemnas.

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Well I never used olive oil till Our trip to Italy. when you put olive oil on their bread and spread garlic bits with butter oh solo mio. Now I am home sick for italy.

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Spain for sure! France is a butter country, Spain is an olive oil country (as are Italy and Portugal). Definitely get your olive oil in Spain, and if you can, pick up some Spanish tuna packed in olive oil. Your tuna salad will thank you.

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Another vote for Spanish oil, IMO similar qualities are much cheaper in Spain - better value for money.

Stoofer

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Olive oil is always good if you get 1ere pression a froid (first cold press). Flavor is different depending on location but they are all good.

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If someone is buying Olive Oil then schelepping it across the Atlantic in their checked luggage, I don%26#39;t think they will want to be buying industrial (or even non-industrial) supermarket stuff.

Find a good olive oil merchant in each town you visit, and try their oil. Buy when you find one you like.

I prefer French to Spanish olive oli (and even then i dont like ANY olive oil that much) but stating that any county%26#39;s olive oil is %26quot;better%26quot; than any other%26#39;s is very subjective

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%26quot;Better is subjective%26quot;

I agree from a taste perspective and that%26#39;s a true answer to the question in hand, I agree Wizard.

However if you look at cost of harvest, commercial mark-up etc. it is possible to state that some countries are better value for money than others, for similar quality olives and same pressing. That was my mesage to the O.P. Buy in Spain.

A local producer in the Spanish interior will be cheaper than the same in France, just local economics. In my experience a similarly produced bottle of oil will be cheaper in Barcelona than in Paris.

I%26#39;m sure very few of us can tell (in a taste test) what would come from Spain, France, Italy or Greece however we could possiblly tell a first pressing EV against a 2nd pressing and recognise the first as superior. If they then are both the same price and the Spanish one is EV then it%26#39;s a %26#39;better%26#39; purchase for sure.

One point worth noting, never buy quality olive oil that is sold in a clear bottle. So many are passed off this way in U.K.

supermarkets but no producer worth his salt will bottle in clear glass.

Oils have vintage years just like wine, and unfortunately, the really good oil from any country is expensive:-(

Sorry for %26#39;lecture%26#39; - I don%26#39;t mean my comments to come across that way.

Stoofer:-)

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Spanish is the best and worth taking home! We did!