Hey everyone,

I am an olive oil lover and also hard to satisfy on this matter . You see, in my family we always bought our year's () olive oil directly from the producer (yummy!) and never really liked the bottled ones in the supermarket, which are now in Switzerland the only option. The regular ones I found in Coop and Migros haven't really worked for me, so now I am turning to you! Just name your favourite quality olive oil, regardless of origin, and where you find it! My taste buds would be grateful !

Thanks!

I use Arbequina varietal oil which I usually get friends to bring from Spain when they visit, but it can be bought at Globus (for significantly more money than the Spanish price!)

One of the best jobs I ever had was buying olive oil direct from producers - great people, food, countryside and fun negotiations with the producers who had skin like the bark of their trees!

I suggest you take your Saturday to explore your town. Simply dozens of shops selling olive oil from Italy, Sicily, Spain etc. For certain the best are not known brands but family small production businesses. The food markets typically have a couple of people selling just oil. Enjoy the tastings.

Despina, the problem may be caused by the fact that you grew up on Greek olive oil, whereas most of the oil available at Swiss stores is either Italian or Spanish. There is a difference. It's like having grown up on Greek salami; you may find Italian salami funny. Of course, Italians (and many others) will say the opposite.

Sorry, I can't provide addresses in Switzerland because I bring my oil from Greece, but I'm sure there are Greek stores in this country.

I get all my olive oil from Portugal, both strong flavoured and the very low acidity, which are quite similar to the Greek type of olive oil. If you find a Portuguese store, I would advise you to get a "Azeite Galo" or "Oliveira da Serra". They are both quite good, and the Galo one, specially the extra virgin, is wonderful on salads and fish plates.

I also have problems with the olive oil available here, which looks more like sunflower oil.

I have a friend that produces the olive oil herself, and it's quite wonderful. It's available online for sale in France and Germany. I could ask her if Switzerland is an option.

A bit far away for you, but here is a little shop in Aargau I like a lot. They also have Sicilian olive oil in five liter cans. It's a tiny shop with lots of goodies and the couple who run it are lots of fun. He has an ever-changing selection of cheeses that he distributes around Switzerland and she prepares and packs big containers of Sicilian goodies for restaurants. She is Sicilian, he is Swiss.

The shop is only open three days a week, but you can reach them by telephone or handy.

http://www.tuttobio.ch/index.html



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Well, I am used to the Greek olive oil my family has been buying for years and not just any Greek olive oil, but that's not the problem. Good olive oil is what I am after, regardless of origin. Commercial bottled olive oil is most usually the product of mixing various olive oils together and that doesn't usually add to the taste or quality. I would just like to know if other expats (not just Greeks of course!!!) have found their match here somewhere, because I guess they are also searching for a taste and quality close to the one they are used to.

How do you BTW bring olive oil from Greece? Do you put a bottle in your luggage when you fly, drive all the way back from Greece or import it somehow?

Not very convenient for you, I know, but there's a chap at the Zurich main station market on a Wednesday who sells olive oil from his own farm in Greece - I find it a bit bland and tasteless, myself, but at least it isn't blended.

Alternatively - and even further away - there's an excellent little Greek import shop in Chur that sells a variety of olive oils (and wine, and halva and all sorts...).

If either of these are of any interest, let me know and I'll dig up some contact details.

I'd suggest visiting the organic stores in your region.
They usually have a rather large selection of olive oils which are really different from each other.
You will have to try until you find one that suits you.
I can understand your problem - for me it's the lack of really decent sour-dough bread, like this one: http://www.hofpfisterei.de
There is just no replacement here.
And I have no time to visit or even phone every bakery in town....

http://www.oliviers-co.com/boutiques

They have stores in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich (for those Zurichers who are interested, they're on the Limmatquai)

Ok, you want good olive oil, but that's good according to your taste, which may differ from what other people prefer. That's what I meant. As stated on another thread, taste is a matter of taste.

As for bringing oil from Greece -- yes, I wrap a bottle or two in plastic bags (several layers to be on the safe side), carefully tie a knot in the bag and put it in my suitcase. So far I've never had a problem with that. My suitcase keeps getting lost on American airports (60% of my trips), not in Europe.

Yeah, that's exactly how I wanted to do it, ever since I was studying in Germany, but unfortunately my suitcase is always full to burst *sigh*. I dream of the time where carry-on restrictions don't exist anymore!

Oh no, don't remind me of Hofpfisterei too!! Loved the bread, I used to buy stuff there right before the closing time at 50% (or even more) off.

I have a dozen or so litre bottles of Greek olive-oil delivered to my apartment in Lausanne every year by a Greek lady who supplies it privately.
If you send me a personal message I'll look out her card and give you her details if you're interested.

Yeah sure! Thanks!

Something I noticed is that when you add a little balsamic vinegar to olive oil and dip your bread in it tastes like banana. Maybe it's just me.

I have no idea which olive oil or balsamico you are using, but most of my salads are done with a sauce made of olive oil mixed with balsamico, and I have never had banana taste on my croutons

While searching for the details of the shop in Chur, I came across a whole list of Greek importers in Switzerland. See here (the Chur shop is halfway down).

I'm afraid I can't find any details of the chap in Zurich main station - and I'm not even sure if he still has his stand. Sorry!

Friends of ours (Italian/Swiss) in Zürich have olive groves in Southern Italy. They produce DONVITO Olive Oil and sell it online here.
You can taste it in their restaurant 'Hotel Schwan' in Horgen too. I grew up with home made (ie. by the very old Italians : ))Italian extra virgin olive oil, so trust me.... this is amazing stuff!!

Their website is only in German but here are a couple of links:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
http://www.vital-produkte.ch/www/lumia.php

Online order form
http://www.vital-produkte.ch/www/order.php

Good luck!

Hi Despoina,

As I see, you're living in Lausanne. There is a Greek guy near Yverdon who imports various things directly from Greece. As you can imagine, his prices are VERY high, but you can find almost everything (including olive oil).

I don't have his details in hand, but I guess I can ask on him, if you're interested.
Also I have seen some olive oil in Coop advertised as "Olive Oil from Kalamata", but I don't know how much ... "Kalamatian" is it actually.

Welcome to Switzerland, by the way, if you're new around.


--[edit] fun fact: I've got now half (32) of your posts (64) and both of us have power of 2 posts.