About Us
Olives have always been at the heart of our family, marking our very past, present and future.
Transformed into the golden drops of Istrian oil, they lend us the flavours of traditional cuisine, challenging white soil and intact nature.
These precious fruits bear witness to centuries of human activity. They have successfully resisted both nature’s cycles and climate changes to become an invaluable part of the family that will offer you nothing but the best of its fruitful experience of living on Istria’s fertile yet challenging land. Our extra virgin olive oils will win you over at first taste!
In search of the superb tastes of Istria’s gastronomy, our family has been creating products primarily to please the gourmand palate of its own members. And it is precisely their labour, knowledge and experience that have been yielding the uncompromising quality on an everyday basis.
“It’s the know-how passed on from our ancestors, kept alive through hard work and immense passion, and accompanied by the latest developments in this field.” – Goran Gardoš
The quality of our produce rests upon decades of practical experience gained through growing and picking tonnes of vegetables. Owing to a twist of fate, and evidently for a good reason, vegetables have conceded the spotlight to the Istrian olive – the queen of our family business that has received nothing but praise all over the globe.
This does not mean that we have given up on vegetables. On the contrary, they have come into play in a slightly different role, and we can now offer you the unique flavours of Istria with our personal touch.
Check out our entire offer complementing the superb olive oils!
Olive oil
The Gardoš family’s olive groves, with more than a thousand trees, flourish on Istria’s fertile, mineral-rich white soil in the villages of Lozari and Bijele zemlje. The quality of our oils comes from a minimum level of crop cultivation. If nested on a good soil blessed with a favourable climate, olive trees are grown organically, without intervening too much into their lifecycle. We prefer to let the microflora and fauna work their magic. Olives are picked when ripe, provided they are healthy, with no more than six to twelve hours passing from the harvest to the processing. Oil is extracted from them on the same day.
Our family’s olive oils have received numerous local and international awards, but it is our buyers’ feedback that we value the most. A lot of them come back for more “to enjoy from one year to another the unparalleled quality and aroma of Istrian olive oil that carries the scent of the soil and air that have breathed life into it”.
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Price range: €7.00 through €16.00 Buy now This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Spice infused olive oil
Beneficial properties of olive oil
Olive oil is a basic component of the Mediterranean diet, which is considered as having the healthiest and most perfectly balanced ratio of beneficial ingredients. It can improve our longevity as it prevents inflammatory processes and cardiovascular diseases.
Being the world’s northernmost olive-growing region, Istria has been following this positive trend. Owing to its Mediterranean climate and specific soil composition, it boasts optimum prerequisites for producing top-quality oil. The powerful antioxidants called polyphenols can be formed in harsh growth conditions only, typical of this region, with the Istrian extra virgin olive oil having a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids compared to that produced in the regions further south.
It was established as early as the 1990s that the biological, nutritional and health effects of olive oil could be ascribed to a high oleic acid content. More recently, the emphasis has been put on the beneficial properties of its natural antioxidants that protect us from oxidation and thus prevent, or at least slow down, the development of chronic degenerative processes leading to atherosclerosis, for example, and resulting in coronary, heart and neurological disorders. The substances contained in olive oil are clinically proven to boast antibiotic properties, inhibiting the growth of certain bacteria and fungi, and even offering protection against development of cancers.
Regular consumption of high-quality olive oil is beneficial for our entire digestive system. This is because olive oil is among the most easily absorbed oils. It balances our digestion, and since a quality diet and gut health are key to a strong immune system, its beneficial properties boost the health of our cardiovascular system and bone tissue.
