Mild, fruity, or bold? How to find your olive oil

Olive oil is as much a part of Portugal as oranges, wine, and the scent of Mediterranean herbs. In many Portuguese kitchens, a bottle of "Azeite" is a natural staple on the table—for refining fish and vegetables, drizzling over salads, serving with fresh bread, or as the foundation for numerous traditional dishes.

However, anyone standing in front of a wide selection of olive oils will quickly realize: not all olive oils are created equal. Mild, fruity, bold, bitter, spicy, or flavored—the differences can be surprisingly vast. And that is precisely why everything in our upcoming theme week revolves around this liquid gold.

During our Olive Oil Week, all olive oils in our range are on sale. It is a wonderful opportunity to get to know different varieties and find out which olive oil best suits your personal taste and your cooking.

Azeite – an integral part of Portuguese cuisine

If you travel through Portugal, you will encounter olive groves primarily in the Alentejo, but also in many other regions of the country. Olive oil has a long tradition here and is not only used for cooking, but is often drizzled over a finished dish just before serving.

A little Azeite over cooked vegetables, potatoes, fish, or soup is completely standard in Portugal. Bread with olive oil is also a wonderfully simple example of the fact that great taste sometimes requires only a few ingredients.

Quality is the deciding factor. Our olive oils are extra virgin olive oils and are mechanically cold-pressed—on average at about 27 °C and immediately after harvest. This creates oils where the natural character of the olives takes center stage.

From mild to bold – what polyphenols have to do with taste

Why does one olive oil taste wonderfully mild while another is clearly bitter or even leaves a slight scratch in the back of your throat? These very differences are what make high-quality olive oil so exciting.

In addition to the olive variety, degree of ripeness, and processing, polyphenols also play a role. These are natural plant substances already present in the olive that pass into the olive oil in varying amounts. Among other things, they contribute to the bitter and spicy flavor notes of an olive oil.

Therefore: Bitterness and spiciness in an extra virgin olive oil are not automatically a sign that something is wrong with the oil. On the contrary—a slightly bitter taste on the tongue or the typical peppery scratch in the throat can certainly be desirable features of an olive oil with character.

Oils made from earlier-harvested, greener olives often have a higher polyphenol content and taste correspondingly more intense. As the olives ripen further, this content tends to decrease, while the resulting oil often becomes milder and softer.

However, this does not mean that a mild olive oil is of lower quality. Mild or bold is primarily a question of personal taste. Anyone who prefers a gentle, harmonious oil will be happier with a mild variety. Conversely, those who appreciate green aromas, a certain bitterness, and a spicy finish should specifically reach for an olive oil with more character.

And this is exactly where the selection becomes interesting: instead of just distinguishing between "good" or "bad," it is worth choosing olive oil based on its individual character, much like wine.

Nevertheless, intensity, bitterness, and spiciness are a good guide for selecting your olive oil: If you like it gentle and understated, opt for a mild oil. If you want to consciously taste the olive oil, it can be fruitier, spicier, and bolder.

A short olive oil guide: Which oil suits you?

With our large selection, you don't have to be an olive oil expert. First, ask yourself a simple question: What do you expect from your olive oil in terms of taste, and what do you want to use it for?

Do you like it particularly mild?

Then the Gallo Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil or the Organic Mild Selection from Olival da Risca are worth a look. The Gallo Mild has a slightly sweet, fruity taste in which bitter and spicy notes are barely perceptible. Such oils are well-suited for more sensitive palates, salads, vegetables, baking, or for dishes where the olive oil should not dominate the flavor.

Those who value organic quality will find suitable alternatives both with Olival da Risca and with the Gallo Organic Mild.

Are you looking for a good all-rounder?

If you are looking for an olive oil for as many occasions as possible, the flavor profile should be balanced. The Gallo Classic Extra Virgin combines fruity, slightly bitter, and spicy notes with a mild, sweet character. It is suitable for seasoning as well as cooking and goes well with soups, grilled dishes, and many traditional recipes.

The Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Prado do Poço is also an interesting choice for anyone looking for a harmonious yet characterful oil. For those who use a lot of olive oil, it is also available in a practical 3-liter bag.

Do you like it fruitier and with more character?

Then the aromas should be more pronounced. Here, it is worth taking a look at the Gallo Organic Fruity Extra Virgin, the Organic Original Selection from Olival da Risca, or the various extra virgin olive oils from Herdade do Esporão.

Such oils are particularly interesting when the olive oil itself is meant to be part of the taste experience. For example, drizzle it over tomatoes, vegetables, legumes, soups, or cheese just before serving—or try it the classic way with a piece of fresh bread.

Are you looking for something special?

For olive oil lovers, things can go a step further. With the Organic Reserva da Família from Olival da Risca, for example, you will find a special selection for those who consider olive oil not just as an ingredient, but consciously as a gourmet product.

Olive oils from Herdade do Esporão or the Extra Virgin from Malhadinha are also exciting options if you want to discover different Portuguese producers and styles.

Would you like to get to know different flavor profiles first?

Then a direct comparison is a good idea. With the Gallo Olive Oil Trio Classic, Mild & Reserva, you can taste different intensities side-by-side and quickly find out which direction you like best.

Feel free to try the oils pure or with a piece of neutral bread. Which one feels particularly soft? Which one tastes fruitier? Where do you notice bitterness, and which one leaves a spicy note in your throat? This will quickly help you develop a sense of which type of olive oil corresponds to your personal taste.

And perhaps you will discover: there doesn't have to be the one perfect olive oil. A mild oil for everyday cooking and a more characterful oil for refining can complement each other beautifully.

Lemon, basil, rosemary, etc.: Olive oil with a twist

Flavored olive oils offer a completely different direction. They make it particularly easy to add an extra flavor note to dishes in just a few steps.

In our range, you will find, for example, Organic Olive Oil with Lemon or Basil from Olival da Risca, as well as other variants with Basil and Truffle from Gallo. La Masrojana also offers olive oils with Garlic, Rosemary, or a spicy seasoning.

An olive oil with lemon goes wonderfully with fish, shrimp, salads, or grilled vegetables. Basil harmonizes with tomatoes, mozzarella, and pasta, while rosemary gives potato and vegetable dishes a Mediterranean spice. Truffle oil, in turn, can add a very special touch to pasta, risotto, or potato dishes with just a small amount.

Thus, it is certainly worth having a smaller bottle of flavored olive oil in the kitchen alongside a classic everyday oil.

Can you fry with extra virgin olive oil?

A common question is: Should high-quality olive oil even be heated?

Yes. Our cold-pressed extra virgin olive oils can be used for cooking and gentle frying up to about 180 °C. They are, however, less suitable for high-heat searing at extremely high temperatures.

An exception is cloudy, unfiltered olive oil. Due to the fine fruit particles contained within, these should be heated more carefully and used only up to about 130 °C.

A good extra virgin olive oil does not by any means have to be saved exclusively for salads. A balanced oil, in particular, can become a true all-rounder in the daily kitchen.

Olive Oil Week: Tasting explicitly encouraged

Perhaps you already have an olive oil that has been in your kitchen for years. Our Olive Oil Week is a good opportunity to try something beyond your usual taste.

Compare a mild oil with a bolder one, discover a fruity variant, or test one of our flavored olive oils. You will quickly notice that different oils can take on very different roles in the kitchen.

Because, in the end, there is no one best olive oil. The decisive factor is which oil tastes good to you and matches what you want to prepare with it.

During our Olive Oil Week, all our olive oils are on sale—from mild and harmonious to fruity and characterful, all the way to special flavored varieties. A good opportunity to taste your way through the variety and perhaps discover not just one, but several personal favorites.

Discover all olive oils