Ancient Greeks used their twigs to knit their Olympic wreaths and the Roman emperors say they had kept the oil of their fruit aside for personal use. But for most centuries, wild olive trees were simply forgotten in the bushes.
These small, poor relatives of the cultivated olive trees were often removed, their tiny fruit considered that they were not profitable enough to harvest. This is still the case today. An average of 4 to 6 kilograms of olives are required to produce one liter of oil of commercial varieties, while for wild olive trees this amount increases to 15-20 kilos.
Thus, cultivated olives, with a much higher yield, dominate the production of olive oil.
However, some producers are beginning to turn their eyes to this kind of largely neglected olive trees.
Of course, there is excellent quality olive oil from cultivated olives. But olive oil from the wild olive has a special flavor, a different taste. But taste is not the only reason that makes wildflower oil commercially viable.
There is a fundamental difference in organoleptic characteristics in the wild olive oil , but its composition is different. It has, of course, the same fatty acids, but in terms of phenolic compounds and vitamin E, it has a much larger share of them.