[Tenuta del Barone di Montemurlo](https://www.oliodelbarone.com/en) — Toscano PGI extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany # Supermarket olive oil or straight from the producer: the differences that matter The real difference is not on the label, it is in what the label does not say: when the olives were picked, how many hours passed before milling, whether the oil is from one harvest or several blended together. Buy from a producer and you can ask. Buy from a supermarket shelf, and usually you cannot. ## The time between olive and mill Good extra virgin olive oil comes from olives milled within hours of picking. The longer the delay, the more the olive ferments and the oil loses quality, even if it still meets the legal limits to be called extra virgin. Supermarket oil rarely states this timing, because it often comes from cooperatives or traders who collect olives from many farms and mill them when the mill has capacity, not when the olives are ready. Buying from a producer who harvests and mills on the same day, this becomes something you can check or ask about directly. We mill within the day of picking, 870 metres from the grove: three minutes by road. ## A single origin or a blend of countries Many supermarket extra virgin oils carry a label reading 'blend of oils from the European Union' or 'blend of oils not originating in the European Union': this means the bottle contains oil from more than one country, mixed to keep price and taste consistent all year round. It is not fraud, it is stated on the label, but it is information worth reading rather than assuming. A single-producer oil comes instead from one grower, one area, one harvest. Our Toscano PGI extra virgin olive oil is made only from olives grown, picked and milled in Montemurlo, between Prato and Pistoia, half an hour from Florence: no bought-in olives, no blending with oil from other countries. ## One harvest or several blended together Supermarkets need a product that tastes the same on the shelf, twelve months a year: to get that, they often blend oil from different harvests. A producer selling their own crop sells you the oil of that particular harvest instead, and when it runs out, you wait for the next season. This means taste can shift slightly from year to year, because climate and picking time change each season. That is a natural variation, not a flaw. ## Who answers your questions In a supermarket, the people who picked the olives and the mill that pressed them are not reachable. Buying from a producer, you can ask when the olives were picked, which cultivars were used, how far the mill is from the grove, and get a checkable answer rather than a marketing line. ## Frequently asked questions ### is supermarket olive oil really extra virgin? If the label says extra virgin, it legally meets the chemical and sensory limits for that category, checked through sampling. It does not guarantee how fresh the milling was, or that the oil comes from a single farm or a single harvest. ### how do I know if an oil is a blend of countries? Check the label: it must state the origin of the olives. If it reads 'blend of oils from the European Union' or similar, the oil comes from more than one country. A single stated origin, such as '100% Italian' or a geographical indication like 'Toscano PGI', means a single, traceable source. ### is oil from the producer always more expensive? It depends on harvesting costs, the season's yield and the area: hand-picked olives from a hillside grove cost more labour than machine-harvested olives from flat land. It is a cost tied to how the oil is made, not to the brand. ### is it worth buying olive oil directly from the producer? It is worth it if you want precise traceability: knowing where the oil comes from, when it was picked, from which olives. If you just need a decent everyday extra virgin oil, a good supermarket option can still do the job. ## Our oil, from tree to bottle Two 100% Italian extra virgin olive oils from Tuscany, from a single hand-picked harvest, milled the same day three minutes from the grove. Luce is green, bitter and peppery; Raccolto is round, for every day. We ship across Italy, Europe and worldwide. [Luce](https://www.oliodelbarone.com/en/oil/luce) [Raccolto](https://www.oliodelbarone.com/en/oil/raccolto) [The estate journal](https://www.oliodelbarone.com/en/journal) [All oils](https://www.oliodelbarone.com/en)