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Old Modern Olive Oil in Provence Old-fashioned and not quite virgin

23 March 2026

An archway of the entrance to the 400-year-old Moulin Jean Marie Cornille, which is incised into the stone of the arch.

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A mixture of green and violet ripe olives held between cupped handsIn the previous episode, Carl Ipsen explained how the EU regulations for extra-virgin olive oil include tasting notes, and that if an oil has any of the forbidden flavours, it cannot be classified as extra virgin. So I was very surprised to read (in an issue of Edward Behr’s Art of Eating newsletter) about oils being produced in Provence that go out of their way to develop some — but not all — of the EU’s “defects”. Just as with modern extra virgin, these old-fashioned oils rely on up-to-date equipment and the skill of the miller.

In this episode, the paradox of old-fashioned modern oil.

Notes

  1. Old-Fashioned Olive Oil from Provence is the piece that prompted this episode. A few months back, Ed Behr had written about modern olive oil. Both contain fascinating tasting notes and more besides.
  2. Here is the transcript.
  3. I lifted some images from the Moulin Cornille website.

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Eat This Podcast has been going since March 2013. That’s a long time in podcast world. In that time, it has twice been nominated for a James Beard Award, although it remains a labour of love rather than a search for glory.

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