Tunisian Olive Oil: A Buyer's Guide

Ask most people to name an olive oil country and they will say Italy, Spain or Greece. Ask an olive oil buyer and Tunisia will be on the list — because a large share of the "Italian" olive oil sold in the world has spent part of its life in a Tunisian tank. This guide explains where Tunisian olive oil comes from, what it tastes like, how it compares, and how to buy a good one in Canada.

Tunisia in numbers

Tunisia is one of the world's largest olive oil producers and the largest outside the European Union. Olive growing covers roughly a third of the country's farmland, with tens of millions of trees stretching from the Cap Bon peninsula in the north down to the semi-desert around Sfax and Sidi Bouzid in the centre. Olive oil is the country's single most important agricultural export, and in good years Tunisia is the second-largest exporter in the world after Spain.

For most of the last century that oil left the country in bulk and was blended and bottled elsewhere. That is the reason Tunisian olive oil is less famous than it deserves to be — and the reason it is often better value than a comparable Italian or Spanish bottle.

The main varieties

  • Chemlali — the most widely planted olive in Tunisia and the backbone of oils from Sfax and the centre of the country. Small olives, adapted to heat and drought, giving a fruity, balanced oil with a clean peppery finish.
  • Chetoui — the northern variety, from the wetter hills around Béja and Tunis. More intense: bitter, pungent, very high in polyphenols. Many of Tunisia's competition-winning oils are Chetoui.
  • Oueslati, Chemchali and others — regional varieties, plus newer plantings of Arbequina and Koroneiki in irrigated groves.

What Tunisian olive oil tastes like

A Chemlali oil from the Sfax region — which is what Golden Spoon is — tastes of green fruit and almond with a gentle bitterness and a peppery catch at the end. It is less grassy than a Tuscan oil and less aggressive than a Chetoui, which makes it a good everyday oil that still has enough character to finish a dish. The hot, dry climate stresses the trees in a way that tends to raise polyphenol content; our own oil tested at 260 mg/kg.

How Tunisian oil compares

Against Italian oil: a real single-origin Italian extra virgin is excellent and expensive. A supermarket "Italian" oil is often a blend of Tunisian, Spanish and Greek oil bottled in Italy. A named Tunisian oil gives you the origin, the harvest and often a lab report for less money.

Against Spanish oil: Spain produces the most olive oil in the world, much of it Picual — bold, peppery and very stable. Tunisian Chemlali is softer and fruitier; Chetoui is closer to Picual in intensity.

Against Greek oil: Greek Koroneiki oils are fruity and peppery with a high polyphenol reputation; Tunisian oils sit in a similar range at a lower price.

Awards and recognition

Tunisian producers have become a fixture at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition in New York, the largest olive oil quality contest in the world, winning dozens of Gold and Silver awards each year since the late 2010s. Golden Spoon has been recognised at NYIOOC, the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, EVO IOOC and the Japan Olive Oil Prize; the details are on our lab analysis and certificates page.

How to buy a good Tunisian olive oil in Canada

  1. Look for a named producer and region, not just "Product of Tunisia" on a blend.
  2. Look for a harvest date or a recent lab report. Olive oil is a fresh product; the current harvest is pressed in November–January.
  3. Prefer dark glass or a tin. Light is the enemy of the polyphenols you are paying for.
  4. Check for certification if it matters to you. Our organic range is USDA Organic certified under the US–Canada equivalency arrangement, which means it can be sold as certified organic in Canada.
  5. Taste for bitterness and pepper. Both are signs of a fresh, polyphenol-rich oil.

Golden Spoon: Tunisian olive oil, shipped from Ottawa

Golden Spoon extra virgin olive oil comes from Société Agricole Innovation in Sfax, Tunisia's olive capital, and is imported and shipped by our family business in Ottawa. We sell a certified organic extra virgin olive oil in 500 ml, 1 L and 3 L tin formats, a milder Naturally Smooth oil for everyday cooking, and an Organic + Smooth bundle. Every oil is cold-pressed and lab-tested, and the reports are published for anyone to read.

Cooking with it

Tunisian cooking uses olive oil generously: in harissa, in slata mechouia (grilled pepper salad), drizzled over couscous, and simply on bread with sea salt. For ideas that suit a Canadian kitchen, see our recipes and our guide to the culinary uses of extra virgin olive oil.